2 B Continued
by Runner043
Summary: Life continues  post Pay Up  for Flack & Angell; her under cover assignment with Vice, then in later chapters Flack chooses to makes a difficult decision  and possibly the ultimate sacrifice  for the woman he loves.
1. Chapter 1

If you're reading my stories in order (which is ideal, since they build on each other), then you should read my version of "Pay Up" before this one. Although it was written as a one-shot, it would take pace right after #12 "French & Irish". You'll want to be familiar with Angell's injuries as they will be referred to in future stories. Also note that Flack was just being introduced more closely to Angell's family before she was shot, then while Angell's in the hospital her father discovers they are more than partners and even invites Flack to stay at his house for part of Angell's recovery. This story builds on that.

I've titled this story "2 Be Continued" because, to me, Pay Up was like a pause in the action for Flack & Angell's lives, and now that it's behind them they can continue, as can my stories.

I had originally planned to re-write Season 6 to include Angell, but other writers have already done a great job of that, so I've decided to make occasional episode references for timeline purposes. The only notable change is that since Angell did not die, the gathering at the bar would have been for a different purpose (someone's birthday, retirement, etc.). Not that I wanted to see Danny hurt, but his being in a wheelchair was significant to Season 6, so I'm leaving that part.

Disclaimer: any characters you recognize belong to CBS. however Vice Agent Vincent Eppes, Vice Agent Jasmine Miena (my-ee-nah), and Detective Caroline Walton are my characters.

And a big 'thanks' to my beta reader TerriBerri23!

**"2 B Continued" chapter 1 **

THREE AND A HALF MONTHS LATER...  
It's now early September and from outward appearances all seemed fine regarding Angell's recovery from the shooting, but some issues regarding her injuries had still keeping her off active duty.

"This is where you want us to go?" Angell asks in surprise.

"Come on, Jess. It'll be fun. You've only got a few more weeks till you're back on duty. It's our last chance to get away, just you and me, for who knows how long." Flack says, seated on his couch, laptop opened to a vacation website he wanted her to see.

"Yeah," She pauses, seated on her couch, with her laptop open to the same vacation website as him, "You're right about that part. This does look kinda fun."

"Just say the word and I'll put in my vacation request tomorrow and get everything booked." Flack says, hoping she will agree.

Angell took a deep breath. Even though she'd spent only the first six weeks of her recovery at her father's house, her schedule since then centered mostly around physical therapy visits & exercise, and doctor visits & tests. If she was honest with herself, she was getting a case of cabin fever. "Sure. Book it." She told Flack, a teasing tone evident in her voice.

Flack smiled at the thought of them spending four days together in South Carolina, playing in the sand, enjoying the Folly Beach Annual Kite Festival, and just being away and together in general. "Will do, sweetheart."

"Everything still on for tomorrow night?" Angell asks, closing her laptop.

"Yeah, Danny & Lindsay will be here at mine about 6:00, as usual." He answers. The four of them had been having semi-regular Friday or Saturday dinners together, usually at Flack's since he was a pretty good cook and it was nice not only for the Messers to not have to play host but also that they could bring along baby Lucy and hot have to pay for a sitter. Of course since Flack & Angell were still trying to keep their relationship quiet, they could enjoy an evening with another couple and not have to worry about being seen together out in public by a colleague.

"You need me before that? To help with dinner or anything?" She asks, knowing exactly what his response will be.

"Nope." His answer was teasing and having everything to do with her lack of cooking skills. He could hear her laugh.

"Fine. I'll just keep my cooking skills to myself." She said, and he could hear the smirking tone of her voice.

"You have no cooking skills, Jess." He teased, now also laughing.

"True. But I do have good phone skills, and I gotta call my dad before he leaves." Angell says.

"Okay. I'll see ya tomorrow, sweetheart." Flack says before hanging up.

THE NEXT EVENING...  
"Hey, Danny." Flack greets as he opens the door to his apartment, then watches Danny enter, Lucy's carrier set on his lap, which he places on the floor while he takes off his jacket. "Where's Lindsay?"

"Oh yeah, she saw someone she knows on the way up. They're still talkin' and she'll be here in a few minutes." Danny explains, hanging his jacket on the closet door handle.

"What the?" Flack asks, seeing the blankets in the baby carrier move. He walks over and lifts a blanket, "Geez, Messer. I thought you had nothing in here but blankets. Can Lucy even breathe under all those?"

"Very funny." Danny replies with a straight face. "It's September now. It gets chilly in the evenings, ya know." He adds, uncovering 4 month old Lucy from several blankets. Flack had to suppress a laugh at his buddy, now an overprotective father. "Where's Angell?" Danny asks, trying to change the subject.

"She'll be here soon." Flack answers, heading back into the kitchen.

Danny wheels himself into the living room, noticing the open laptop on the coffee table. "You plannin' a vacation, Flack?"

"Yeah. I just got my time off approved today. Me an' Jess, we're heading south for a few days while you all enjoy the leaves changing color here." Flack answers.

"Sounds nice. Between Lindsay's maternity leave, then my medical leave, it'll probably be years before we get a vacation." Danny laments, still eyeing the laptop. 'Hmm, two boarding passes, one car rental, two event tickets, and... two rooms?' He notices.

A few minutes later both Lindsay & Angell walk through the door, welcomed by their two men and the smell of lasagna. "You guys have us so spoiled." Lindsay comments. "Between work schedules, taking care of Lucy, laundry, and getting what sleep we can, a home cooked meal is a lot better than the take-out we usually opt for."

"Well, then," Flack begins, raising his wine glass as they all gather at the table, "That calls for a toast." Danny and Angell grab their wine glasses, Lindsay her soda glass since she's a nursing mom, "To nice quiet evenings with good food, and most importantly, good friends."

**FAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFA **

TWO WEEKS LATER...  
Being woken up at 5:12am, almost two full hours before her alarm was set to go off, was not how Angell wanted to start her first day back at work. Her and Flack's flight back from their vacation to warm sunny South Carolina had been delayed, twice, and they'd gotten back to New York very late last night. She shuffled her bare feet, carrying her still tired body, across the floor to answer the door.

_'There's no one there.'_ Angell mumbles to herself, looking through the peep hole, before a hand pops up. _'Messer.'_ She mumbles again. "This better be good, Messer." She firmly states to him as soon as the door is open, clearly not happy at being woken up early.

"Sorry, Angell." He says, wheeling himself just inside the door and taking in her sleepwear. It was obvious he had woken her up and that she was not happy about it at all. "I'm looking for Flack."

"He's off today. Still on vacation till tomorrow." Angell informs him.

"Yeah. Yeah, I know. But we've got a huge lead on a case and need his help. He's not answering his cell, which is obviously off, since it's going straight to voice mail." Messer explains.

"That's because he's on... va-ca-tion." Angell sternly reminds him, her arms now folded across herself and leaning against the back of the couch.

"Yeah, I know." Messer says in an apologetic voice, "But Mac and Lieutenant Sythe both sent me for him, hoping he'll come back a day early. But he isn't at his apartment, so... uh... is he still asleep?" He asks, making the assumption that his two friends had hooked up over their vacation, and that Flack was probably in Angell's bed snoring right now.

Angell's expression remained neutral as she leaned even further over the back of her couch, tuned slightly and looked down at the sleeping Flack sprawled out across the cushions, "Looks asleep to me." She finally said.

Messer wheeled himself a little further into the room, far enough to see around the end of the couch, surprised to see his friend sleeping there. "Um, yeah. He sure is." Was all he could manage to say.

"Do me a favor." Angell pauses, standing up fully again, "Lock up when you're done peeling him off my couch, will ya." And with that she walked away, obviously back to her bedroom.

A FEW HOURS LATER...  
Flack parks his car at the precinct and has a uni take the perp in for booking, then notices his friend waiting nearby. "What's up with you, Messer?" Flack asks teasingly, noticing the smirk on his face.

"What's up with me?" Messer teases back, "The question is; what's up with you? You're the one who booked two rooms for a vacation with your girlfriend, and then you sleep on her couch?"

"Yeah." Flack answers simply as they exit the car. He should have known this was coming. He and Danny had been friends throughout both of their skirt-chasing years.

Messer just remained there, rocking the wheels of his chair back and forth just a bit. Flack knew that was Danny's equivalent of rocking back on his heels, and he wished more than anything his friend had that ability right now. "'Yeah'? That all you got to say? 'Cause you two have been together for quite a while now." Messer pauses with an almost concerned look on his face, "You uh, got a problem or somethin' there, buddy?"

Flack gave a slight laugh with his eye roll, "Funny, Danny."

"Well, ya gotta admit, this ain't like you." Messer honestly observes, his curiosity getting the best of him at the moment.

Flack gives a slight nod. Danny was right. Well, sort of. This wasn't like the old him. He felt like things were so different with Angell, that he'd managed to eradicate every trait of a 'Dutch' or a '3' that could possibly still be in him. He didn't want to be like that any more. He was in love with Angell, he respected her, and he would do anything for her. "True, Danny. But ya know what?" A look of thoughtfulness on his face, "Things are so different now. With Jess, I mean. I just,... I just can't be the skirt-chasin' guy I used to be anymore. I can't treat Jess like that... I love her, Danny... I just won't treat her like that."

Messer's expression had now also turned thoughtful, "You're serious, aren't you? Real serious, I mean, about you and Angell."

Flack just nodded.

"So,... what? Are you about to propose to her or somethin'?" Messer asks, almost cautiously.

Flack takes a deep breath, "I don't know, Danny." He answers, running both hands through his hair as if frustrated. He'd thought about it so many times, about how he wants a future with Angell. But he'd never verbalized it, and now it sounded so strange to say, even in his own ears. "I mean, it's not like we're sending out invitations yet, but... we're getting there."

Messer smiled. He was happy for his friend. "Come on, man. Let's get inside. Our perp's probably though being booked by now."

INSIDE THE PRECINCT...  
"What's goin' on?" Messer and Flack both inquire of Officer Chebouski at the front desk.

"Vice is here." He stated from his perch, "Oh, and guys,... if you happen to see Detective Angell, I'd be real careful what you say." He warned, emphasizing the word 'real'.

"Why's that?" they both wanted to know.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough." Chebouski answered, before reaching for a ringing phone.

Flack and Messer proceeded into the bullpen, Flack being immediately waved over by Lieutenant Sythe, "Over here, Flack." Messer followed.

"What's up, Lieutenant?" Flack asks, seeing that an exodus from the bullpen had occurred.

"Meeting with Vice, in the conference room." Sythe explains. "You're just in time. You might wanna tag along, too, Messer. Taylor's in there, listening in, as there may be a tie-in with one of your cases."

Flack was first to walk through the double doors, they open into the hallway that leads to the conference room, he starts to turn left, but notices Angell and two other females, one he recognizes and one he doesn't, to his right. They are headed in the opposite direction, but he smiles anyway. Seeing her back at the precinct for more than just a visit or brief meeting with Sythe or the department shrink was a wonderful sight. He was proud of her. She'd fought hard for her recovery, he knew of the pain she endured and the long hours she'd put into her rehab every single day in order to recover and be back to the work she was called to do.

"Yo, Flack, ya gonna just stand there blockin' the doorway or what?" Messer said from behind him.

"Oh, sorry, Danny." Flack replied, not realizing he'd stopped as he watched Angell walk down the hall and disappear from his sight.

"This is Agent Vincent Eppes with Vice." Sythe said to the group of officers and detectives gathered in the conference room, "He has an operation going down for the next two days that we all need to know about."

"Thank you, Lieutenant Sythe." Eppes said, taking center stage, "As you know, there have been a string of murdered prostitutes in this area," He began, as he gestured to the referred location on a map. "They were all identified as being from out of state, until the most recent one. Laura Hopes was a local and we suspect she ticked off her pimp. Hopefully today and tomorrow's operation will shed some light on that possibility. What actually brings me here today is that we've had this sting operation planned for a long time, but two of our three agents were suddenly called away due to a major break in another case they are involved with. So we're recruiting two officers from your precinct to take their place."

MEANWHILE...  
"Oh yes, you ladies are going to be just perfect when I'm finished with you." Jose exclaimed, his giddiness was not lost on the three women standing before him. Jose had been a make-up artist, hair stylist, and costume designer in the porn industry. To avoid prosecution in a case that involved several underage girls, he'd agreed to help Vice out with his specialized talents when they requested.

Angell looked at Jose with something just short of disgust. Despite his flamboyance, he was still sizing the three women up like pieces of meat. She avoided his gaze, instead looking at the racks of clothes they would be trying on in just moments. _'Oh goody, my one day to look like a porn star.'_ She mockingly told herself.

LATER, IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM...  
Flack continued listening to Eppes as several others entered the room, including Angell. She didn't look anything like herself, fortunately.

"Basically the only thing we'll ask of you is to stay away from the operations area. We wanna catch these Johns, not scare them away." Eppes said. "And I see that our stylist Jose has finished just in time for you to see his work."

"Aren't they just wonderful." Jose exclaimed, referring to the three women he'd just made over for their assignment. "Bet you wouldn't have even recognized them." He added rather smugly.

Flack recognized Angell, but only because she was doing that nail biting habit she had when she was tense. Very tense. And this had to be making her very tense. He knew that being asked as a last minute substitute in a Vice operation like this was nothing short of degrading to her.

Flack and Messer gave each other a sideways glance. This Jose character just almost gave them the creeps, with his slicked back black hair, obviously tweezed brows, and he may have thought he was runway ready in those clothes but they thought he just looked stupid. They watched as he flamboyantly waltz over to the women to show off his work.

"I've given their 'customers' some variety." Jose proudly informed everyone, "You've got your classic look here." He said, referring to their precinct's Detective Caroline Walton. Walton is a tall, medium built woman with shoulder length curly brown hair. She wore the typical tight fitting low cut red top with a denim mini skirt and red pumps. "Then for the upper-class business man out there." He said, gesturing to Vice Agent Jasmine Miena. Miena is a very petite woman of maybe a size 2, with sleek light blond hair cut in a bobb at her chin. She wore a figure hugging knee length blue dress with black pumps. "And here we have something-

_'Some...'thing'_?' Flack thought to himself, silently fuming. Jose had just referred to Angell as a 'thing' and the short scrawny little man was really lucky Flack didn't rip his head off at the moment.

_'Some...'thing'_?' Angell thought to herself, trying to remain professional and not let her disgust show. _'Oh, God, I feel like a piece of meat on display up here. I'd really like to just crawl into a hole right now, or maybe just disappear so they can't see me.' _

-for the man who likes his fantasies." Jose continued, gesturing to Angell. Angell fit into what could be described a slight dominatrix category. Her soft brown curls pulled back tight into a high sleek pony tail done in a french twist, causing her hair to look almost black. Her make up was heavy, especially her eyes and lips. A black leather bustier laced up the back and had her almost spilling out the front, and matched the very short tight shorts she was wearing. Her black spike heeled boots were thigh-high, zipping up the back and tapering upwards in the front, allowing just a few inches of the fishnet stockings to show on her upper thighs. Jose had told her that a cape and whip would complete the look, but he didn't want to go over the top, especially too early during the day.

A moment later, as if nothing unusual was going on, Eppes wraps up the meeting, then thanks Sythe for his time.

Sythe briefly retook center stage, "While I have you all here, let me remind you of the Mayor's granddaughter who's still missing. You're all excellent sources for information on the streets, so keep those eyes and ears open and let's bring this missing girl home to her family." And with that, everyone was dismissed, filing out of the room, leaving Vice and the two 12th precinct detectives to have a final meeting.

A few minutes later Angell walks into the bullpen, heading for her desk. She now wore a light weight trench-style coat, but she knew that didn't change the memories of her co-workers who had all seen her in that ridiculous outfit she still wore underneath. Her entrance gets her several unwelcome stares from the male members of the squad, including Caine.

Angell stopped and glared at Caine, who's mouth had opened as if to speak. "Not one word, Caine. Not one word." Angell sternly warned him. "Unless you want your balls handed to you in a paper bag,... not one word had better come out of that mouth of yours." And with that she turned away from him and proceeded towards her desk, not sure if the angry tone in her voice worked with Caine or turned him on. Given the outfit he knew she was wearing under that long coat, she'd rather not speculate on those options.

"Aw, come on Jessica, it's not like you can blame the guy." Detective John Scagnetti said.

Angell froze mid stride at hearing him use her first name, then slowly turned to Scagnetti. He knew he was in trouble the second he opened his mouth and now that he could see the look on her face, there was no doubt about it.

A few steps was all it took for Angell's long legs to reach Scagnetti, and she quickly planted her foot down hard on the front edge of his chair between his knees, causing him to shift back as far in his seat as possible. She placed her hands on the arm rests of his chair and leaned forward, closer to his face, invading his space, "What did you just call me?" She sternly asked.

"Um, I uh,..." He stammered, "Detective Angell. Of course, ... I uh, would call you Detective Angell." He attempted, but failed, then nervously looks down at the tip of her boot dangerously close to him. He should have just kept his mouth shut at that point, but foolishly didn't. "It's the boots." He said with a shrug, as if her current attire gave justification, as if she was supposed to understand and accept.

She leaned further into his space, her right knee now peeking out from her coat and up near his chest and the tip of her boot just brushing the inseam of his pants. This causing him to swallow hard and squirm in an attempt to get back further into his chair, which didn't work. "You got a problem with my boots?" She asks sternly. She knew she had put him in his place, she could see the sweat beading up on his brow.

Scagnetti immediately shakes his head, "No. No problem at all, Detective Angell."

Angell slowly raises up, "Good." Is all she says, before giving his chair a hard push with her boot, causing it to roll back about six feet. She gives him a brief stare before turning away and continuing towards her desk, hearing him give a heavy sigh of relief as she walks away.

Flack did surprising well at how he took in what had just played out in front of him. He liked Scagnetti, knew he was letting his mouth get the best of him at the moment, and would let it slide, probably, since his girlfriend had just, once again, proved herself most capable of putting any man in his place. Caine on the other hand, was just an ass that really needed to be put in his place a lot more often, by anyone.

Angell opens the bottom drawer of her desk, putting her gun in the lock-box inside it.

"Not armed." Flack says, stating the obvious and exhaling deeply.

"No place to hide a gun in this outfit." Angell says, stating the obvious. "All I'll have is my badge." She adds, then regrets it.

Flack raises a brow, wondering where on earth she could hide her shield. He wisely chooses to keep his mouth shut, a feat not missed by her, as evidenced by the smirk on her face.

FOUR HOURS LATER...  
"That's five so far." Walton said to her two counterparts. "Seems like we're reelin' 'em in as fast as we can get back here to the sidewalk."

A chain link fence ran along the sidewalk that was designated as their location, behind it the parking lot for a 2-star hotel where they told their Johns they already had a room waiting for them. They had a room alright. It was set up with surveillance cameras and audio equipment. They weren't about to let anyone get away for lack of evidence. Vice agents were in abundance in the rooms to either side, listening and watching their undercover female crew come into the room with a John, two at a time. An unmarked car sat around the corner, waiting to haul the last customer to jail where he would be fingerprinted and photographed, and hopefully never cheat on his wife again, since most of them turned out to be married.

"You've done this before." Agent Miena said to Angell, who gave her in inquisitive look. "It takes practice to master heels while walking like this, especially in those boots." She added.

Angell nodded before speaking, "Two years in Vice before switching to Homicide." She explained. "How long have you been doing this?"

"Just over three years. I think I took your place." Miena answered.

"Thank you." Angell said while waving seductively to a man walking on the other side of the street, a large black van in her field of vision. There were two vans, one at each end of the street, manned by Vice agents, just in case something went wrong and the women needed assistance.

"Well, I for one, am never doing this again." Walton informed them, "My feet are killing me and this push-up bra isn't exactly comfortable." She added, glad that they weren't wearing wires and their colleagues in the vans couldn't hear them.

"Might not be so bad, if you didn't have your badge stuffed between your girls." Angell smirked, Walton nodded, then they all laughed.

"You're lucky if the cleavage comes from a push-up. Wish I could take mine off like that at the end of the day." Miena said, causing Angell and Walton to laugh. "Oh, I wish it was funny. Why do you think I get stuck with this awful assignment every time there's a sting operation?"

"Oh goody, here comes another one." Walton said sarcastically, before strolling up to the sidewalk's edge as the car's window rolled down. All she had to do was smile to get the man to ask 'how much?'. "Fifty bucks. Which one of us do you want?" She told him. He nodded, pointing to Angell. "Pull into the parking lot. Room 108."

"Uh, I thought just one of you was coming." The John said, eyeing Walton as she walked into the room right behind Angell.

The women always went in pairs; the one that had been chosen by the John, and another claiming to be the money collector. The other got to take a much needed break.

"I'm only here for your money. Then I'll be gone and you can have your fun." Walton explains as she flirts, "Unless you wanna pay double and have both of us." He did.

The hours came and went, as did the Johns. It was getting late, or early, depending on if you factored in that it was technically the next day now. They'd made 11 arrests.

THE NEXT DAY...  
Since they were both on late shifts, Flack and Angell took an 11 mile morning run, then had breakfast, then walked to her apartment.

"That poor woman, trapped in an elevator like that." Angell said, unlocking her door.

"She was. Her claustrophobia was severe enough to nearly send her into cardiac arrest." Flack said.

"Don't worry, Don. You'll catch him." Angell said, turning around. She'd noticed he hadn't followed her in. "Don?" She asks, taking a step back to the doorway.

"I gotta head home, Jess." Flack said, "I need a shower and've got stuff to do before shift later."

"It was good to spend the morning together." Angell said with a pleasant smile, leaning herself against the door frame.

He nodded, "Yeah, it was." then gave her a kiss. "I'll see ya later." He said, taking a step away from the door, then stopped. He turns back around and steps close to her again. He reaches out, his finger touching just under her chin, then sliding down and around to the back of her neck, all the while not breaking eye contact, "I love you, Jess." He said, then starts to turn away to leave again.

"Wait." Angell said, straightening herself up.

"Yeah?" Flack asks, facing her again.

"You love me?" She asks, taking a small step towards him.

"Yeah." He answers simply, without making a move.

"Don,... you've taken me to nice restaurants, held me close out on dance floors, and laced our fingers as we walk through the park. We've sipped wine out on the balcony looking at the stars, had countless make-out sessions, you even saw me in that ridiculous outfit yesterday, and, and,... and you wait till we're both hot and sweaty from running, standing in the hall, with barely a goodbye kiss because we're both in need of a shower,... to tell me?" Angell said, a bit stunned at his timing.

Flack slowly takes a step towards her, that was enough to reach her, "Yeah." He said again, then pauses. "Dinner & dancing, and walks through the park,... it's all wonderful, Jess, and I wish we had time for more of that kind of thing. But, everyday life isn't like that, those things are too far between, Jess. Everyday life, the stuff that gets us to work and back home again, that's mundane and boring, ... that's where it matters, Jess. Everyday life is where love matters." He pauses again, his hand back on her neck. "Too soon?"

"Huh?" She asks, not sure what he meant.

"Did I say it too soon?" He asks again, not sure.

She pauses, slightly shakes her head, "God no." She says, then kisses him. This time, though, their being hot and sweaty didn't matter, the kiss was passionate and deep.

"I love you, Jess." He tells her again, slightly releasing his hold.

"I love you, too, Don." She says, leaning back to look into his eyes.

BACK ON SHIFT...  
"It washes off." Miena Says to Walton.

"Yeah, nothing a good bar of soap won't take care of." Walton replies, touching up her lipstick.

"I didn't mean the make-up." Miena clarifies, "It's the dirty feeling you get from being used in a sting operation like this, from having John after John eye you like the prostitute you're pretending to be. It washes off."

Walton didn't say anything, just nodded. She would take a long hot shower as soon as she got home to see her husband and kids.

It had been another busy day for the three women. Sixteen arrests, and they swore it was as if their Johns from the previous day had told all their friends about them, but obviously they weren't making those kinds of calls from jail.

The Vice agents had packed up their surveillance equipment and called it a day. The three women stood on the sidewalk, waiting to be picked up and taken back to the precinct. A black van pulls up and they get in.

AN HOUR LATER...  
"Whadaya mean they're missing?" Flack yells into is phone as he paces the bullpen floor, running his free hand through his hair.

"The operation was complete, surveillance agents had packed up all the equipment, and one of the vans went to pick up Miena, Angell, and Walton,... but they were gone." Vice Agent Eppes explained.

**FAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFA**

I'm already busy working on chapter 2 and hope to have it up soon. I've got soooo much typing to do before the wedding!


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews. There were comments on when/how/where Flack said those 3 little words. I intentionally chose not to tie it into the shooting or her recovery, so she wouldn't think it was out of his fear of losing her. Nor did I want it under the perfect conditions of dancing/dining/candle light like it was all 'set up', if ya know what I mean. Flack would know when the time was right and genuine.

My characters for this chapter: Steven 'Stevie' Hill & James 'Jimmy'Swanson.

This chapter begins right where chapter 1 ends; with Flack recieving a call from Vice Agent Eppes, and Lieutenant Sythe entering as he concludes his phone conversation with Mac.

Thanks, as always, to my beta reader TerriBerri23.

**chapter 2**

An hour later...  
"Whadaya mean they're missing?" Flack yells into is phone as he  
paces the bullpen floor, running his free hand through his hair.

"The operation was complete, surveillance agents had packed up all  
the equipment, and one of the vans went to pick up Miena, Angell,  
and Walton,... but they were gone." Vice Agent Eppes explains to  
Flack while trying to stay calm himself.

Lieutenant Sythe walks up to Flack as he flips his phone closed,  
"That was Mac. He and his crew are on route. ETA is three minutes."

"I'm on my way." Flack informs Eppes before hanging up.

"I'll drive." Sythe states, picking up the keys from Flack's desk.

"Sir?" Flack says in surprise.

"One of mine is missing. I don't take that lightly. I'm going with you."  
Sythe declares. Water cooler gossip or not, it didn't take a seasoned  
detective to figure out there was a relationship between Flack and  
Angell. He was a married man himself and knew that look he'd seen  
between two of his detectives.

"Mac." Was all Flack said to announce their presence as he and  
Sythe quickly walked up to what was now a crime scene.

"There's nothing here." Mac says, "Just common debris on a  
common sidewalk, and common vehicle marks on a common street."

"Footage?" Sythe asks.

"Adam's already got street footage from that camera." Mac answers,  
gesturing to a street-cam half way down the block. "And Eppes has  
his agents checking their surveillance footage from yesterday and  
today."

"You think it's one of the Johns?" Flack asks.

"Doubtful. But the ones from yesterday and this morning are already  
out on bail, so we can't discount the possibility." Mac says, pulling  
out his ringing phone, "Taylor." He answers. "That was Adam, we've  
got a black van that pulled up and picked up all three women."

"There were two black Vice vans here earlier. One a block that way,  
another a block that way." Sythe says, gesturing in each direction as  
he talks.

"True." Mac says, "But this third black van wasn't from Vice and  
picked them up before one of the other two was supposed to."

"Does the footage show if they were forced into the van?" Flack asks.

Mac shakes his head, "No. The camera angle doesn't show that.  
But we have a make, model, and partial plate, so an APB has  
already been issues on it for a triple officer abduction."

"I just got a text from Eppes. His crew has isolated several of the  
Johns that exhibited risk factors." Sythe says, still looking at his  
phone, before looking directly at Flack, "Let's you and me head over  
there and help find these men."

30 MINUTES LATER...  
Agent Eppes leads Flack and Sythe into an AV room where 4 other  
Vice agents have footage cued and ready for them to see.

"These men, in particular, were more interested in giving the women  
a hard time, one even trying to get out of paying." One of the men  
said aloud to everyone in the room. He then played the footage one  
at a time.

_'This is hard to watch.'_ Flack thought to himself as he looks at the  
monitor, watching the woman he loves play her role in the sting  
operation to the best of her acting abilities. On the first monitor he  
watches her sit on the edge of the bed and lean back to rest on her  
elbows, as Miena is trying to get the guy to either pay or leave. The  
guy ignores Miena and walks over to Angell, standing between her  
knees, leaning against the mattress. 'I'll pay ya when I see how good  
she is.' His words make Flack sick, but he continues watching as  
Angell pulls up a knee to place the bottom of her boot on the guys  
chest, _'Ya gotta pay before you can play.' _He hears her say, a slight  
shock jolting through him. He'd never seen her in an operation like  
this before and it was a bit unnerving.

He then turns is attention to the second monitor where he watches  
another John try to touch Angell before she playfully slaps his hand  
away. _'No free samples.'_ he hears her say, and another shock goes  
through him.

On the third monitor they all hear the John say he couldn't blow that  
much cash, followed by Angell's words about her blowing something.  
He tried to let that particular shocking jolt go directly to his brain so  
he wouldn't have to remember what he'd just seen and heard, ever  
again.

"Saved my favorite for last." He heard the agent who was running  
the AV room say as they all turned their attention to the fourth  
monitor. Angell was once again laid back on the bed propped up on  
her elbows. The John couldn't pay Miena fast enough, which was no  
surprise to any of them as he was a short, fat, bald guy. Angell  
straightened her leg, slowly sticking it up into the air and twirling her  
foot around playfully. She then reached behind her thigh and slowly  
started to unzip her boot, stopping behind her knee, just far enough  
she could fold down the front of her boot to reveal her badge clipped  
to a garter on her thigh before she looked at the guy with a smile.  
_'Busted.' _she all but whispered to him before the Vice team swarmed  
into the room to cuff him.

"These four men are our starting points." Eppes said, then Flack and  
Sythe took their leave to start tracking them down.

MEANWHILE, 2:30am, IN A WAREHOUSE...  
"Don't give me that bull shit. I wanna know who you're working for!"  
Stevie shouts at the three women as they all stand in the center of  
the warehouse.

The black van that had picked up the three women turned out to be  
driven by Stevie as his co-pimp in the passenger seat Jimmy held a  
gun on the three women that quickly realized they'd gotten in the  
wrong van only a second too late.

"There ain't nobody gonna squeeze our territory and get away with it,  
bitch. Now who ya workin' for?" Jimmy yelled directly into Miena's face.

"We already told you." Miena said, with an intentionally shaky voice.  
She knew that if she showed her true 'I'm-gonna-kick-your-ass' colors  
that they'd all be made as cops in a second. That fact was their ace,  
and they were gonna hold onto it for as long as possible. "We don't  
know anything about territories."

"Look." Angell spoke up, following Miena's lead, "We were just out to  
have a little fun is all."

"Your cutting into my profits ain't 'fun' for me, bitch." Stevie said, his  
hand balled into a fist as if to hit her.

"But,... we didn't know. Look, we're sorry. We were just out to,... well,  
to see if we could do it." Walton said, also playing along.

"Yeah right. Three grown women just out to prove they can score a  
John. You expect me to believe that crap story?" Stevie yells.

"But it's true." Angell says, concerned that Stevie's fist would soon  
collide with one of their faces. "Our husbands were all busy working,  
and we had a little too much to drink, and then came up with this  
crazy idea... just, ya know,... just to see if we could do it."

"That's all that happened. We've never done anything like this  
before. We even picked a random place, didn't know anything about  
it being,... well, taken." Walton adds, hoping their story will stick.

"Put 'em in the room with the others." Stevie orders Jimmy. They  
would deal with the women later.

BACK AT THE PRECINCT...  
"Flack." Flack says into his cell phone. "Yeah, all 4 men's alibi's  
check out. Those sleaze-bags may be guilty of adultery, but not  
kidnapping."

"I've got 3 possible combinations on the partial license plate from the  
street cam footage that go with the black van." Adam informs him.

"Thanks, Adam." Flack says before getting started on the newest lead.

"Keep us posted, Man." Adam requests before going back to the footage.

BACK AT THE WAREHOUSE...  
"You get anything?" Angell asks Walton as the three huddle quietly  
at one end of the room.

"The women I talked to, well, just girls in many cases, are all here  
after being abducted." Walton quietly informed Miena and Angell.

"And that one over there, the blond on the far cot, looks a lot like the  
Mayor's granddaughter."

"That's the same story I picked up from the ones I talked to. One of  
'em even warned us to be careful so we didn't end up like Laura. I'm  
assuming she means Laura Hopes, the prostitute. Your forensic  
scientists are working her homicide case." Miena surmises.

"I got told the same thing." Angell adds. "Now we just have to figure  
out how to get out of here. That door over there leads back to Stevie  
and Jimmy in the main part of the warehouse, and that door over  
there - that leads to God only knows where - has two locks on it. But  
neither door will do us any good without keys."

"I think I can fit through that window." Miena says, referring to a  
narrow window up high on the wall. "I saw stars, so at least we know  
it leads to the outside."

AT THE LAB...  
"Boss!" Adam calls out as Mac is passing the A/V lab.

"You got something, Adam?" Mac asks, entering the room.

"I think so. I've picked up a reflection of the drivers face in his side  
mirror. It's kinda blurry, though." Adam explained.

"Let's get that image to Flack and have him cross it with those plate  
numbers." Mac instructs. "Good work, Adam."

AT THE WAREHOUSE...  
"If we're gonna gain the trust of these women, we're gonna have to  
blend in, have opportunity to talk to them." Miena says, referring to  
the 20+ prostitutes locked in the room with them.

"What about 'safety in numbers'?" Angell asks, "Should we stick  
together, or spread ourselves out in the room?"

"I agree with Jasmine." Walton said, "We should spread out, and  
even if something does go down, at least they won't have us all  
cornered."

The three agree on a plan and chose cots around the large room,  
wanting to talk to as many of the prostitutes as possible.

AT THE LAB...  
"We got 'em, Mac." Flack says as he all but charged into his office, "I  
ran down the three partials, matched vehicle owners to their drivers  
license photos, and came up with a match to the image Adam got off  
the street cam footage."

"Steven Hill." Mac reads aloud from the file Flack had handed him.

"Goes by 'Stevie'. He's a low-life pimp, workin' his girls in the  
warehouse district in this area." Flack says, gesturing to a map in  
the file now lais open on Mac's desk.

"Okay, but I can't picture one pimp grabbing two detectives and a  
Vice agent all by himself." Mac says.

"He's got a partner." Flack says, handing Mac another file. "Name's  
James Swanson. He goes by 'Jimmy' on the streets and runs Hill's  
money laundering for him."

"Any idea where he might be?" Sythe asks, walking into Mac's office.  
Flack shakes his head, "The only address we've ever had on him was  
at his mother's place in Queens."

"Let's check into property holdings for both Hill and Swanson. It may  
give us a lead on where they're holding them." Mac says, as Flack  
writes in his note pad.

AT THE WAREHOUSE, NOW ABOUT 6am...  
"You get any sleep?" Miena asks Angell as she approaches her cot.

Angell shakes her head, "Not in this place. You?"

Miena also shakes her head. "This place is filthy."

"I think I heard a rat nibbling at the bottom of my cot all night."  
Walton says with a shudder, taking a seat next to them.

"We've gotta get outta here. We can't help these women if we don't  
get outta here." Miena says.

"If we timed it right, we could take Stevie and Jimmy down. But if we  
leave without the women, they'll have them gone before we can get  
back with backup." Angell says, Walton agrees.

"I'm not convinced we should take that risk, since they have a gun.  
What if I go out the window and go for backup alone?" Miena suggests.

"You're the only one who'll fit through that tiny thing." Walton says.

THREE HOURS LATER...  
There is a noise at the door, it being unlocked. Stevie and Jimmy  
enter the room. The girls working the early shift would soon be taken  
by van to their locations for the day.

"You three!" Stevie yells, "Get out here!"

Miena, Angell, and Walton all comply, slowly walking into the main  
part of the warehouse. Again, acting scared.

"I'm only gonna ask you one more time." Stevie says, "Who are you  
workin' for? And don't tell me that same crap story you tried  
yesterday, 'cause housewives don't dress like that." He added,  
referring to Angell's attire.

"Halloween is next month. This costume was easy to find." Angell insisted.

"We want the truth." Jimmy orders.

"We already told you." Angell begins, "Until yesterday, we were just  
three bored housewives, feeling a little sorry for ourselves while our  
husbands are all out of town, until we came up with this stupid idea-"

"Stupid idea?" Miena interrupts, "Who's idea you callin' stupid?"

"Yeah," Walton chimes in, playing along, since the game had  
obviously changed, "We just said, 'let's do something new and  
different'."

"Hey, you're the one with kids," Angell says to Walton in an irritated  
tone of voice, "You're the one who felt 'old' and 'boring'."

"I kinda like these cat fights." Jimmy says to Stevie a minute later,  
after they'd watched things escalate to the point of yelling between  
the three women.

"Yeah, well, I don't have time to watch a chick fight right now." Stevie  
replies. "Shut up!" He suddenly yells at the women, then ushers  
them back into the locked room.

After the door locks behind them the three women smiled at each  
other. Then Miena ripped the heels off her shoes as Angell and  
Walton position a cot under the window to stand on. A minute later  
Miena stands precariously on their shoulders, a pillow case wrapped  
around her hand in case she needs to break the glass, struggling to  
reach a pipe on the wall to use to reach the window. It takes several  
minutes and several tries before succeeding.

"Don't look back." Walton whisper-shouts to her as she squeezed  
herself through the tiny window.

"Just keep going, no matter what." Angell encourages her, knowing  
she and Walton will incur any fallout if Miena is discovered missing.  
"Let's get this cot moved back, before they suspect something."  
Angell says, grabbing one end.

"Too late." Walton warns, gesturing to Abbie Webster, the Mayor's  
granddaughter, who had begun banging on the locked door and  
yelling for Stevie and Jimmy. All the other women in the room had  
kept quiet, hoping the tiny petite blond would make it out the window  
and get help for them all.

Walton and Angell rush over, grabbing Abbie, trying to quieten her.  
"That won't do any good." One of the girls speeks up. "She may be in  
here with us, but she's still their rat."

Abbie continues yelling untill the door opens and Stevie enters.  
Walton and Angell both rushing him like football players tackling an  
opponent with the ball. They knock him down, sending his gun  
sliding along the floor. Abbie runs out, hopeing to grab the gun, but  
several of the girls run after and restrain her, allowing Walton to  
reach the gun first. She immediately grabs Stevie's jacket, hoping  
the keys are in the pocket, then ushers all the girls back into the  
room, away from the fight between Angell and Stevie.

"Get 'em outta here!" She hears Angell yell. She knew her colleague  
could defend herself and probably take Stevie down as well. But  
right now their priority was to protect those girls, even Abbie, and get  
them out of there. Once back inside the room, she forced herself to  
remain calm. Several of the girls restrained Abbie, who would run  
back out to Stevie if given the chance, while she trys key after key on  
the ring, needing first to lock the door they've just come through, then  
open the large metal door, hoping it lead to the outside.

AT THE PRECINCT...  
"Hill is the registered owner of this property right here, and right  
here, and another one right here." Flack says, referring to locations  
on the large wall map. "These warehouses are listed under a fake  
company name, so it took a while to get through all the red tape and  
facades. And there's no cell phone registered to either Hill or  
Swanson."

"We'll split up with SWAT and check 'em all out a lot faster." Sythe  
says, putting on his kevlar. No one was taking one of his and getting  
away with it.

MEANWHILE...  
Miena hadn't needed the pillow case for the window, but it came in  
handy as she found the warehouse's parking lot surrounded by a  
chain link fence topped with barbed wire. She endured several cuts,  
but made it over the fence and took off running.

At the moment, her feet were carrying her as fast as they could to the  
nearest public place to find a phone. She ran about two miles before  
spotting a deli.

"I need a phone!" Miena yells, as best she can from running so hard  
and fast, as she enters the front door to the deli.

"Pay phone's around the corner." The deli owner says in a monotone  
voice without even looking up from the sandwich he is making.

"This is police business! I've got two NYPD detectives in trouble and I  
need a phone! Now!" Miena yells. As the deli owner looks up, three  
customers have already extended their phone-clad hands to the Agent.

12th PRECINCT PARKING LOT...  
"Hold up!" Eppes calls out to everyone as they are already loaded up  
and about to head out in three different directions. "I just got a call  
from Agent Miena. They're being held at the warehouse on Marshall  
Avenue. Scratch the other two warehouses, everyone head to the  
one on Marshall Avenue!" He loudly instructs.

Flack was driving the lead car with Agent Eppes in shotgun. Stella  
and Mac are right behind in his Avalanche. "Flack's gonna get  
himself killed, driving like that." Stella says as she flinches again.

"He's gotta get to her, Stella. He doesn't care about anything else  
right now." Mac says, grateful for the lights and sirens that were  
helping clear a path in the traffic.

MEANWHILE...  
Walton had succeeded in finding the key it took to lock them into the  
room, away from the fight currently going on between Angell and  
Stevie. Walton was now repeating the process to find, not just one  
key, but two, for the two separate locks on the large metal door. If  
this door didn't lead to the outside, she was gonna be mad.

Angell was tired, but there was no way she was letting up. She knew  
Stevie was tired, too, but he had a lot to lose, and there was no way  
he was giving up either. So the punches and kicks continued.

TWO MILES AWAY AT THE DELI...  
Lindsay pulls up in front of the deli, Miena barely in the passenger seat before they take off.

AT THE WAREHOUSE...  
"Yes!" Walton shouts as the door finally opens, even happier that it  
was to the outside as they'd hoped for.

"But, the fence." One of the girls questions, disappointment and fear  
obvious in her voice.

"Don't worry about it, dear." Walton says in a comforting tone, as she  
can hear the sirens in the distance. "Let's wait over there." She  
instructs, gesturing to a spot a little closer to the gate.

Flack let the SWAT vehicle take the lead, knowing they'd use the grill  
of their SUV to ram the fence open, allowing he NYPD, CSI's, Vice,  
and SWAT vehicles to enter and surround the warehouse.

One of the NYPD vans veer right just inside the gate, stopping near  
Walton and the women she had with her. The women are quickly  
loaded into the van to be taken to the hospital and checked out.  
Walton joins a team of 3 SWAT members to cover the back door she  
had come out of. But the keys she had used previously were now  
useless, as the door was self-locking and keyed from the inside only.  
So they search for another point of entry.

Angell could hear the sirens, lots of them, and hear the crashing of  
the front gate. She knew Flack would be with them, that he wouldn't  
stop till he found her. But until they had made their way inside, she  
and Stevie would continue their exchange of punches and kicks.

Flack's heart was pounding and he'd barely got the car in park before  
exiting. SWAT fanned themselves out around the building, looking  
for every door and window they could find to get in. Mac and Stella  
would join Flack and Eppes at the front door, two officers ready with a  
large door ram. Eppes gave the signal, the door is busted open and  
they all enter.

Angell can hear the door being busted down. Help had arrived, now  
they just had to get to her. They probably thought that would be the  
easy part, she knew it wouldn't.

Flack carried a shot gun with a flashlight on it, aimed and ready. He  
didn't need it. Well, the flashlight part anyway. He could see Angell  
right away. The warehouse was sectioned off in a way he'd never  
seen before. Once inside the front door, you were in the main part of  
the warehouse as expected, but there was chain link fencing, floor to  
ceiling, to get through. The fencing ran around three sides of the  
large open space, like a 6' wide wrap around hallway, leaving the  
middle almost like a giant cage.

Stella and Eppes went right, Mac and Flack went left. At the end of  
the make-shift hallway - as if the fencing was a substitute for a wall -  
Flack and Mac came to stairs that led to a loft above the room the  
women had been kept in and looked out over the warehouse. Flac  
could still see Angell easily, but none of them could get to her yet.

Stevie punched Angell again, sending her back onto a stack of  
crates. She took opportunity to kick him in the gut, which sent him  
back on his ass, she then took off for the stairs. She thought that if  
she could just reach the top, she might find a way to let Flack and  
Mac in. She could hear them both calling to her as she neared the  
top, but Stevie was right behind her and grabbed her by the ankle,  
sending them both tumbling back to the bottom. Angell made it to  
her feet first and flipped Stevie over onto his stomach, pinning an  
arm behind him. But his elbow made painful contact with the side of  
her head as he struggled to flip himself back over to regain some  
control. Stevie could see the officers all around them, separated  
only by the chain link fencing they hadn't gotten through, yet. He  
could also hear their voices calling out to him to 'freeze' and knew  
several guns were trained on him. In other words, he had nothing to  
lose and wasn't about to go down without a fight.

Flack had had all he could take. He wasn't about to continue  
standing there helpless as his girlfriend was taking blows like that.  
"Come with me." He orders Mac without even thinking. Mac runs  
behind Flack, back across the loft, down the stairs, and around the  
hall. "Wait here. And stay clear!" He orders again, then takes off out  
the front door.

"Where's he going?" Stella asks, as she and Eppes return from their  
side, not having any luck getting through the fencing either.

"I don't kn-" Mac started to say, just as one of the SWAT van's came  
crashing through the front door and keeps going till it had also  
crashed through the fencing, stopping almost in the center of the  
warehouse.

Flack slams on the brakes as soon as he knows the SWAT van is  
in. "Freeze!" He yells as he exits the vehicle, pointing his gun at Stevie.

Angell blocks another punch, before sending one of her own. She  
can hear Flack yelling at Stevie, but he's obviously not listening or  
caring. Suddenly he takes her to the ground, the back of her head  
hitting the concrete floor as he begins to choke her. Angell brings  
her hands up between his arms to break his hold as she also brings  
her right leg around and kicks him off her. This sends him  
backwards onto the floor with a thud.

Angell didn't move. She didn't have to, she remains on her back  
looking up at her team and SWAT members around them. It was  
finally over. If Stevie dared move, they could deal with him.

"Don't you mo-" Flack starts to yell, his gun trained on Stevie. But he  
didn't finish his sentence. Silence.

"Angell." Stella finally says rather softly, crouching down beside her.

_'Why is she talking to me like that?' _Angell wonders to herself,  
exhausted and just laying there, still trying to catch her breath. She  
looks up, Stella and Mac were both looking over at Stevie. She  
struggles a bit to sit up, feeling resistance, then she sees it. Her  
boot. When she had kicked Stevie off her, the stiletto heel of her  
boot had gone through his neck. They all watch as Stella checks for  
a pulse, but she just shakes her head. There's nothing to say. Stevie  
is dead.

Angell slowly runs her hand down the back of her leg, undoing the  
long zipper to release her leg and foot from the boot. She then slides  
herself back a few feet away from the body before removing the  
other boot, which she leaves on the floor before walking away.

A FEW MINUTES LATER...  
Flack walks around the back of the SWAT van that he'd previously  
crashed through the door and gate, that had yet to be removed from  
inside the warehouse, to find Angell setting against it's bumper, an  
ice pack held to her head.

"I need her at the ambulance, sir. Agent Eppes' orders." The  
paramedic says, addressing Flack.

"She'll be over in a few minutes." Flack assures him, then watches  
the paramedic nod and walk away. "Jess." He says, carefully moving  
the ice pack aside so he can survey the damage for himself.

Angell looks up, making eye contact with him. "I'm okay, Don." She  
assures him at seeing the concerned look on his handsome face.

She was lying. Every part of her body hurt, but it was her first  
assignment back on full active duty again and she wasn't about to let  
anyone see her weak, not even him. Well, at least not now.

"I know you will be, but for right now you still need to get checked  
out." He reminds her as he removes his jacket and wraps it around  
her shoulders. It was all he could do to contain his emotions, after  
searching for her, then finding her but not being able to reach her.  
And now, now she stood before him, safe, but he knew she was lying  
about being 'fine' as the bruises that were now forming were a dead  
giveaway to the truth of how much pain she must be in.

"I will. I just,... I just don't wanna be fussed over at the moment."  
She says, that part being true.

"What can you tell us about Abbie Webster, the Mayor's  
granddaughter?" He asks, changing to a subject that will make her  
more comfortable.

"Most of the women here, were here of their own accord. But the  
younger girls, many of them were abducted, including Abbie. It  
appears that she came to like it her. Probably the attention, the  
clothes, being made to feel grown up and special. One of the girls  
told us that she was Stevie and Jimmy's rat among them." She says,  
sliding her arms into the jacket sleeves to better cover herelf.  
"Speaking of 'Jimmy'." Mac says, causing both Flack and Angell to  
notice his presence. "Any idea where he is?"

Angell shook her head, "No. He split earlier, leaving just Stevie here  
with us. Went to drop off more girls, I think, but never came back."  
"We'll get an APB out on the van. It was the same one they used to  
pick you up." Mac says before walking away.

"Come on, Jess." Flack says, gesturing towards the ambulance,  
"They're waiting for you."

Angell looks over, seeing Eppes headed her way and stands up. She  
nods, giving in before Eppes can reach her, then slowly heads for the  
ambulance, feeling Flack's hand gently on her back.

Monroe and Messer were both at the ambulance, taking statements  
from Miena and Walton. "Hey, Angell." They all greet her.

"What a waste." Monroe says, as Sid and his ME assistant wheel  
Steven Hill's bagged body past them, the zipper part way open with  
most of the boot sticking out of it.

"Yeah, of a perfectly good pair of boots." Miena says, obviously  
having no tolerance for those in the pimp business. "And a perfectly  
good pair of pumps, too." She adds, gesturing to the heelless pumps  
still on her feet.

"Any luck tracking down Jimmy?" Flack asks Stella as she  
approaches, finally having an opportunity to check on the ladies for  
herself.

"No. He's still in the wind. He has no cell phone, no residence, and  
there's no luck yet spotting the van." Stella replies.

"He was talking on a cell phone earlier." Walton informs.

"Then how's there no record of it?" Angell asks.

"It's just not registered in his name, so with no clue as to who's name  
it is under..." Stella says, trailing off.

"His mother." Flack blurts out. "The only contact info we could get on  
him was his mother's address. She's an elderly lady that thinks her  
son can do no wrong."

"So, maybe she's added him to her plan." Stella finishes for him.

"I'm on it." Lindsay says before walking away.

Once Miena, Angell, and Walton all finish at the ambulance, they are  
load into a Vice SUV for transport back for debriefing.

LATE THAT EVENING...  
"We got 'im." Flack says to Angell as soon as she opens her  
apartment door.

"Good." Was her simple reply, accompanied by a sigh of relief, as  
she steps aside to let him enter.

Flack slowly lays his jacket across the back of a chair, taking the  
extra moment to take in her appearance. Her hair is still wet from an  
obvious shower, but her arms were red. "Did it work?" He asks.

"Did what work?" She questions, not sure what he is referring to.

"You've just spent two long days dressed and acting like like a  
prostitute, being treated like a piece of meat for men to ogle and  
fantasize about. And now,..." He pauses, setting on the couch  
beside her, "and now your arms are red, either from a scalding hot  
shower or from scrubbing yourself raw. Either way, wanting to get it  
all off of you." He pauses, wanting to touch her arm, but doesn't, "Did  
it work?" He asks again.

"I wish it did." She replies, avoiding direct contact with his blue eyes.

Flack gently raises her chin with his hand, finally causing blue to  
meet brown. "Talk to me, Jess." was all he had to say. It was  
enough.

She wanted to continue looking at him, but couldn't. She looked  
away for a moment before speaking, "I worked Vice before coming to  
Homicide. Ya gotta learn a lot about what it's like. Out on the  
streets, I mean." She reminds him, seeing him nod in  
acknowledgment. "Where do the girls come from, how do they end  
up like that, what will they do to get out." She continues, as if  
thinking out loud. She pauses, laying her head down on a cushion.  
"Oh God,... it's all just so messed up. Most of those girls could've  
left. They could've gotten out of there. But they don't. Some have no  
place to go, except right back to the hell-hole they ran away from.  
Some are so ashamed of what they've done that they would rather  
keep selling themselves than face it. Then there are girls like Abbie  
Webster, who start out abducted, but end up staying for the thrill.  
Then the ones like Laura Hopes, who try to escape, or even think  
about it, end up dead."

"You're right, Jess. It's messed up." Flack agrees, "Now you wanna  
tell me what's really bothering you." He adds. It wasn't really a  
question.

Angell raises her head, making eye contact again. _'He knows me so  
__well.'_ She thought to herself, seeing a sympathetic look on his face.  
"Stevie." She manages to say.

"But,... he didn't-" Flack starts to say. His mind flashing with the  
disgusting words Stevie would have said to them, the way he would  
have sold them for sex just to line his own pockets, the things he  
would have done to them himself if given the chance. If they had  
been anyone but undercover cops.

Angell shakes her head, "No. He didn't." He sighs in relief and his  
expressions softens again. "But you know pimps usually initiate their  
girls themselves. And even though he and Jimmy had a gun, and  
even though we didn't wanna risk anything that could get any of his  
girls hurt, there was no way Walton, Miean, or I were gonna let that  
happen. We'd already agreed on that. It's just that,... it got me  
thinking." She pauses, touching his face, "The first time a man  
touches me,... I want it to be you."

Wordlessly, he reaches over and wraps an arm around her waist and  
pulls her onto his lap, holding her close. She rests her head on his  
shoulder. He knew now was not the time. She'd just spent days  
having men gawk at her, willing to pay a lot of money for sexual  
favors from her. Right now she needed to feel loved, respected, and  
cared for. And he had an abundance of those things for her.

"Don." She eventually said, without moving.

"Hmm?" He acknowledged, also without moving.

"My dad is hoping that the next time I get a couple days off, that I'll go  
visit him again. Will you come with me?" She asks.

"Anything you want, babe." He answers.

**FAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFA**

Next chapter; Flack goes with Angell to visit her dad, but, what will  
happen when they get there?

I've always written Angell as a tough kick-ass cop who can take care  
of herself, so I'm not sure why I keep doing these 'damsel in distress'  
storylines, but oh well.


	3. Chapter 3

Now that I'm finished with "The Wedding" it's time to resume my Flangell series and get back to this story. Thanks to all of you who have been following along and read my stories. As always, I do hope you are reading them in order, since they build on each other and will make more sense that way.

Gotta say a big "Thank you!" to my beta reader TerriBerri23. Her help is appreciated.

And now, let's continue with the story...

**FAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFA**

A FEW WEEKS LATER...

"Can I, uh, can I try something, Angell?" Adam asked in his usual shy tone.

"Whadda ya got in mind?" Angell questioned back. She knew Adam was a very smart guy, but he was a lab geek, not a detective or interrogation trained, and she didn't want him in over his head. But something told her to let him have a shot at this.

"Um, well, it's just a line of thinking... kinda thing. Sorta." He stammered nervously, making eye contact only once.

Angell held up a hand to stop him, "Okay, Adam. Let's see what you can do." She said, having gotten no where with either the mother or the son anyway.

Adam just nodded before walking around the corner to the door, his head down and his shoulders slightly slumped. She was curious what was going to take place next and watched through the interrogation window as he entered the room.

"Hi, Scott." Adam said to the 11 year old boy sitting at the table. "I'm Adam." He added, taking a seat across from him and taking in his scared hazel red-rimmed eyes. Scott didn't respond with anything but a nod, so Adam did his best to muster his courage and continue, "I want to talk to you about what happened to your dad today." He said, and watched him cringe. It was a terrible thing for any kid to have to go through, losing a parent. But in this case two and two was just not adding up to four and they had to find out why. "What can you tell me about your mom?" He asked.

This question caused more tears to run down Scott's cheeks, and he shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know." He answered, looking away.

"That's okay, Scott. What can you tell me about your dad?" Adam asked, trying a different tactic.

"He likes baseball." Scott began, "He always takes me to the games on the weekends."

Adam smiled at him, noting that the boy still used his father's presence in the present tense. "You ever catch any balls at the games?"

"We try. We always take our mitts, but we never do. Dad always says we aren't sitting in the right area for catching balls. But we take our mitts anyway." He said, and Adam noticed a slight smile. "Do you like baseball?" He asked.

"I, uh, I play baseball video games." Adam explained.

"We have some of those too. For the off-season." He said.

"Does your mom go to the games, too?" Adam asked.

Scott shook his head 'no'.

"She's in the next room. Maybe you'll get to see her soon." Adam said, but Scott didn't respond.

"Where's he going with this?" Mac asked Angell as he too was now watching through the window.

"I'm not sure yet." Angell replied, "But he did good with the Deputy Mayor's son once, so I'm giving him a shot at talking to this kid."

"That's quite a scar you've got on your neck." Adam observed, but Scott didn't answer. He just pulled his hoodie closer around his neck. "I've got a scar, too." Scott just looked up at him. "See." Adam said, pulling the neck of his t-shirt over to reveal a bit of his right shoulder. "It goes down my back." He added, standing up as he hiked his shirt tail up, exposing just a bit of skin just above his waisteband. Scott just stared at the wrinkled pink skin and cringed a bit. "It runs all the way down the back of my leg." Adam added, sitting back down and hiking up his pant leg. He just watched Scott as a look of realization came across his face. He'd never told anyone about the scar before, but this kid needed his help and he would let neither his pride or privacy hinder that.

"That's a big scar." Was all Scott said.

Adam nodded, "Grown ups, especially our parents, aren't supposed to hurt us, Scott." The boy looked away and didn't say anything. "Your dad protected you, didn't he?" Scott slowly looked up at Adam, his lower lip starting to quiver. Adam didn't say anything right away, he wanted to give the boy time to process.

Outside the room, Mac looked over at Angell, "Those aren't just scars, those are burn marks."

The thought of Adam, or anyone for that matter, having a burn that ran from the shoulder all the way down the back and leg was just sickening to Angell. "Who could treat a kid like that?" She said rhetorically while rubbing her temples.

"It's hard to even imagine." Mac responded, "No wonder the mother wants to get out of here so fast."

Adam resumed, wanting his own past and the demons he'd conquered to help this boy, "Right now, Scott, your scars a little. But if your mom doesn't stop hurting you,... you could end up with big scars like I've got." It hadn't occurred to him that the boy could ask how he got the scar. He wasn't sure how he'd answer if he did. It had taken years for him to get over the fact that his own father poured boiling water on him till he watched it pool at his feet. He sure didn't want to put that image into this boy's mind.

Adam was relieved when Scott finally nodded. It wasn't speaking, but it was just as good at the moment.

Adam finally left the room, letting Mac and someone from Child Protective Services take over. He'd exited the same way he went in, head down and shoulders hunched, and hoping no one would really notice him. "That was very strong of you, Adam." He heard Angell say. He stopped and turned back to face her. He didn't speak, just nodded sheepishly.

"If you ever need to talk to someone," She offered gently, "We're all here." She watched him nod again before turning to continue on his way, obviously not wanting to talk about it. She took a deep breath to relax before heading for the interrogation room next door where the mother was. She took another deep breath before entering, knowing full well it would take all she could muster just to be in the same room with the woman. She dealt with murders, drug dealers, rapists, and all of society's lowest on a daily basis, but child abusers were in a different category as far as she was concerned.

THE NEXT MORNING...

Flack stood at his living room window, noticing how much the trees at the curb across the street had changed. It was a cool fall morning, the sun was out, deceptive in it's warm appearance, and the leaves were changing color. In one hand he held a steaming mug of coffee, the other ran through his still shower-wet hair. He heard a knock at the door and looked at his watch, 'Right on time' he thought to himself.

"Hey, Sweetheart." He greeted Angell with a smile, taking in her appearance. Her skinny jeans were tucked into her favorite boots, a long sleeved t-shirt, and her hair was in a French braid, something he'd never seen her do before.

"Hey." She greeted back and gave him a kiss. She noted his messy hair, but enjoyed that he still tasted like toothpaste. "So, tell me why I'm here so early. My dad isn't expecting us till dinner." She requested, walking over to the window Flack had just been at.

"True." Flack stated, closing the door, "But there's a couple of other meals between now and then, that we can enjoy - together." He said, walking up behind her, placing a hand on the edge of the window frame, and she leaned back against him.

He looked over her shoulder, "See that cafe down there?" He asked, she nodded, "They have the best bagels. We could start there for breakfast. Then I was thinking we could do a little shopping."

"Wait." She stopped him, "Shopping?" She asked, and felt him nod against her shoulder. "We both hate shopping."

"True." He stated, "But I was thinking that if we head in the general direction of your dad's house after breakfast, that there are a couple of those antique shop lined streets between here and there."

She turned in his arm to face him, as he set his empty cup down. Not only did he not like shopping, but antiques were her thing, not his. "In other words, I'll be having fun while you're -"

"- enjoying spending the whole day with the woman I love." He finished for her as he leaned in for a kiss. When he pulled back he noticed the expression on her face. "What?" He asked, almost cautiously.

"I like your answer... so far... now I'm waiting for the rest of it." She informed him.

_'She knows me so well.'_ He thought to himself as a smile came to his face. He paused for a moment then gave in, "I heard about your case yesterday. Wanted to give you something to do besides sit home and fold laundry while you ran it over and over in your mind."

This was one of the reasons she loved him so much; he was thoughtful and always concerned for others. Dealing with the abusive mother who killed her own husband to keep him from telling on her, plus what Adam had been through because of his own abusive father, well, it had been an emotionally draining case, and her boyfriend was right, sitting at home folding laundry would be an ideal scenario for her brain to work overtime. "So today's about distraction?" She asked with a raised brow.

"Something tells me you'll be the one distracting me." He said leaning in for another kiss.

She eventually tilted her head back, needing oxygen. Apparently he didn't need any, as he immediately began kissing her neck instead. Her fingers found his wet hair as he wrapped both arms around her. Their lips made contact again as both their hands began to roam a bit and both began to wonder if there would be any shopping done today at all. Then Flack's stomach made a loud rumbling. "Sounds like we should head for the cafe." She said.

_'What a mood killer.'_ He thought to himself. But, "Yeah." was all he said, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

After bagels and fruit at the cafe, they hit the road, their only goal to have a relaxing day together. Angell was driving her brother Jared's car, as he had put new tires on her car which would be at her dad's house waiting for her.

SEVERAL ANTIQUE SHOPS LATER...  
"I'm surprised you're not going to get it." Flack stated as they left the shop, referring to the antique secretary Angell had found that matches one she already owns.

"I'd like to. They'd look really nice as a pair, and I could use the storage space." She answered.

"But?" He pressed.

"But it's not like it'll fit in the trunk of my car, Don." She answered with a grin. "I'll be back this way again before long. If it's still there, I'll think about it." She hoped her answer would satisfy him, as the truth was that the item was just too expensive for her budget as she was already saving and planning for Christmas.

"I'm hungry." He announced, "You ready for lunch?"

"You're always hungry." She teased, her feet kicking at some leaves. "There's a great pizza place down the street, we could just keep walking."

AN HOUR LATER...  
"Hey look, there's a men's suit shop not far from here. One of those outlet places." She said, showing him the map posted by their table. They were after all in one of those tourist trap areas.

"Thought you wanted to hit the next street over." Flack said, referring to their continued perusal of antiques.

"You said recently that you need a few new suits. Besides, we've done enough of what I want for now." Angell said. She knew he wasn't interested in antiques, but tagging along and even acting interesed for her benefit. His thoughtfulness was so genuine it made her love him even more.

ANOTHER HOUR LATER...  
"That one's nice, but I still like the other one more. It fits you better and the color goes with your eyes." Angell said, referring to the navy blue suit he had previously tried on. "But it's going in your closet, so it's what you like that matters."

"Yeah, but I care what you think." Flack replied, looking in the three-way mirror at the grey suit he was currently trying on. "You're right, the navy one fits better."

"Here, try this on." She said, handing him a long coat. "It's lightweight, but it's got that thermal lining in it."

"Hey, this is nice. This would be great for winter. Warm without all the bulk my long coat has." He said, looking in the mirror again.

"You gonna get it?" She asked.

He sighed, "Think I'll stick to the suits for today. I've got several here and am gonna have a tough time choosing as it is. The coat can wait." Truth was, even outlet store prices added up quick and he just needed the suits more.

"You sure I can't talk you into a few ties?" Angell teased as they waited their turn at the register.

"I have ties. Lots of 'em. Everyone gives me ties." He said.

"There's a reason everyone gives you ties, Don." She deadpanned, but realised he was no longer paying attention.

"Now there's what I need." Flack said to the man at the counter next to them who was paying for his purchase. "Do you have any wallets like that?" He asked the sales man across the counter, gesturing to the man's wallet.

"They're on the table behind you, sir." The sales man answered Flack.

"Hmm, yeah, I saw those. But see the nice stitching on his?" Flack said as he reached for his pocket. "See how mine's all coming apart right here... Oops, wrong pocket." Flack said, then laid his NYPD flat badge down on the counter as he reached for his other pocket to get his wallet. "Ah, here it is. See, right here, where it's starting to come apart? I'd like a really nice one like he's got."

"I have some that just came in. I'll get one from the back room for you as soon as I'm done here, sir." The sales man offered.

"Oh, no hurry." Flack said, picking up his badge. "I've got lots of time."

"Ya know, I just realized I I'm gonna need my credit card for this." the other customer said to the sales man. "It's in my car. You go ahead with him and I'll be right back."

"Yes, sir." The sales man said as the man walked out of the store.

"You might as well put those back on the racks." Flack said, referring to the other man's items. The sales man looked confused. "He's not coming back."

"Sir?" He said, obviously seeking an explanation.

"Those were counterfeit bills he was pulling out of his wallet." Flack said, and the man's eyes went wide.

"You... uh, you didn't grab your badge by accident. Did you?" He asked, a bit shaken.

Flack shook his head. "Figured if I was wrong, he'd go ahead and pay. Figured if I was right, he'd do exactly what he just did."

"Um,... but, aren't you gonna arrest him or something?" The sales man asked, confused again.

"I'm not on duty right now, had only a suspicion, and someone's already following up on it." He said as Angell approached.

"Plates and vehicle description have been called in to local PD." Angell said as she approached, looking at Flack while showing her badge to the sales man who obviously needed all the reassurance he could get at the moment.

Flack nodded and turned his attention back to the sales man, "I'll take these two, please." He said, taking out his credit card.

As the sales man neatly wrapped the suits in plastic while talking to the owner, Flack and Angell decided where to go next on their slow procession to her father's house.

"Take these to Detective Flack's car for him, please." The owner instructed the sales man, who followed Flack and Angell to the door. "And thank you for your help here today." He added, shaking Flack's hand, then Angell's.

"Glad we were here." Flack said to the owner as they left.

AT THE ANGELL FAMILY HOUSE...  
"Dad!" Angell yelled as they entered her father's house. "We're here!"

It was a large two story house, big enough to raise 5 kids in. Flack had stayed there during part of Angell's recovery after the shooting, when Mr. Angell had invited him to come home with them. He'd been back only once since then, for her brother's birthday dinner.

"Dad's out back barbecuing." Her brother Joshua said as he entered the foyer. "Good to see ya, Don." He added, shaking hands.

"Tell him we'll be out in a minute." Angell said to her brother, who then headed for the kitchen to get the steaks their father wanted before returning to the back yard.

Angell turned to Flack, noticing the puzzled expression on his face, she smiled, "It's the old expression; keep your friends close, your brothers closer." She said, putting her own twist on the phrase. Then she watched as he caught on to what she meant.

"Right." Flack said with a nod of understanding. "He's the one you can't turn your back to." He said, remembering what happened at APB.

"Not unless you want your arm twisted behind it." Angell said, hanging up their jackets. "Let's go."

"Brrr!" Mr. Angell shivered as he carried in a platter piled high with various barbecued meats for dinner.

"I swear, Dad, you're probably gonna barbecue the ham for Christmas dinner out there in the snow." Joshua said, teasing his father.

"And if I did, you'd probably be complaining about it between mouth fulls." Mr. Angell teased back, taking his seat. "Now, if you'll put your fork down for a minute, we'll say grace."

"That was great, Mr. Angell." Flack complimented as they all rose from their seats. "I've never had sausages barbecued before."

"You're kidding." Mr. Angell commented in surprise.

"Nope." Flack said, pushing in his chair. "My dad will barbecue just about anything, but he's never done sausages before."

"You're dad likes the grill, too, huh?" Joshua inquired.

"Let me put it this way; your dad probably won't be the only one barbecuing ham on Christmas out in the snow." Flack said with a smirk, then he and Joshua laughed.

"Well, Don, why don't you follow me into the living room and tell me all about your dad's grill skills, while my children do the dishes." Mr. Angell said, leading Flack away from the dining room.

'You sure you want those two left alone unattended?' Angell heard Flack say to her dad as they walked away, then she turned to her brother. "You wash. I'll dry."

LATE THAT EVENING...  
"What's wrong, Don?" Angell asked, placing a hand on his arm as he reached for their overnight bags in the trunk of her car.

He sighed and turned to look at her, "I can't quite put my finger on it, Jess."

"But?" She pressed.

"But, I don't think your dad likes me." He answered.

"What makes you think that?" She asked, closing the trunk and glad they were outside and alone for a few minutes.

"I guess that's what I can't quite put my finger on." He said with a shrug. "I mean, he's polite to me and all, but-"

"But?" She pressed again when he didn't finish.

"But," He sighed again and there was an extended paused. "I don't know, Jess. It just,... it just bothers me that he might not approve of us having a personal relationship outside of work." Angell put her bag down and walked into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her and laced his fingers together behind her back, "I know how important you family is to you, and I just don't wa-"

Flack didn't get to finish his words as she silenced him with a kiss, then wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again. "I love you." She whispered into his ear as they finally broke apart. "You ready to go back inside yet?" She asked, breaking their hold on each other to pick up her bag.

"I am now." He said with only a half smile, but a full heart.

Flack stayed in the guest room, just as he had during Angell's recovery. Angell stayed in her childhood room, which she enjoyed. It always filled her with nostalgia and sometimes when she lay awake at night she could even remember back far enough to times with her mother. Oh how she wished her mother was there now, so she could give her advice on how to deal with her father's issues over her dating Don. She loved her family and was especially close to her dad, but she was a grown woman now and dating Don was the best thing that had happened to her in a very long time. He was a true blessing in her life and she wanted to share that with her father, not have him feel like he was losing her because of Don.

MORNING CAME...  
"Here ya go, Jess." Flack said, stepping out onto the back porch with another cup of coffee for her. "Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt." He said to her and her father, as it was obvious they were having a serious discussion. "Just, uh, brought you some more coffee." He said awkwardly, handing it to her. He glanced at Mr. Angell as he turned to go, "She always needs lots of coffee in the mornings." He half-joked, trying to lighten the moment as he suddenly felt quite uncomfortable, but immediately regretted his words.

As soon as the door to the house shut, Mr. Angell looked back at his daughter, but did not say anything.

"Oh, geez, Dad. Don and I have worked many graveyard and early morning shifts together. Of course he knows I need coffee." Angell said to her father. She knew exactly what he was thinking, what any father would think.

"Jessica," Mr. Angell said, picking up their conversation again, "It isn't that I don't like Don. Just the opposite, in fact. It's just that," He paused, obviously choosing his words carefully, "It's just that,... your mother put up with a lot, being married to a cop. It's hard. If you were a cop, but Don wasn't. Or if he was a cop and you weren't. Things would be different, but, Jessica, two cops. That's gonna be hard."

"And?" Angell pressed, their conversation reminding her of the one she'd had with Don just the night before. 'What is it about men and having to pry complete thoughts out of them?' she wondered.

"And, I just don't want to see you get hurt, Jessica." Her father said, a deep tone of caring in his voice.

"Dad, it was you that taught us that 'anything worth having was worth working for', and 'doing what's right and doing what's easy are usually two different things'." She said, watching her father nod at recognizing his own words. "I appreciate your wanting to protect me, Dad. And I do see the point you're making. Understanding law enforcement work and cop hours,... it can be hard on a relationship. But who better to understand what it's like than another cop that's going through it, too." Angell explained. "And face it, Dad, we'd be having this conversation on a different topic, no matter who I dated."

Mr. Angell smirked, "Yeah, baby girl. I suppose we would." He said honestly, realizing this was more about his own issues with his daughter being a grown woman now than it was about who she was dating. He felt like he was losing his only daughter and nothing was going to change that or make it any easier.

MEANWHILE...  
"You're not Tommy Waldman." Joshua announced, entering the kitchen where Flack sat reading the newspaper.

"Who's Tommy Waldman?" Flack asked, setting down is coffee cup, then looking up at Joshua with an expression of obvious confusion.

Joshua put the coffee pot back on it's base and laughed slightly to himself. 'Poor guy.' he thought to himself as he sighed, "Lieutenant Thomas Waldman has been one of my dad's closest friends for decades. They were detectives at the same time and worked together for almost twenty years before Waldman made Lieutenant." He paused while setting his cup down and taking a seat across from Flack, "The Waldmans were opposite from our family; all girls, then a boy. Thomas, Jr., or Tommy, as he was called. He was the same age as Jessica, so everyone always teased about how they'd grow up together and would get married some day." He paused again, taking a sip of his coffee, "I swear, those two probably weren't even weaned yet and our parents were already planning the next generation of cops."

Flack didn't say anything, yet. He just leaned back in his chair, his hands laced behind his head, trying to keep his expression neutral, waiting for Joshua to continue. "Mhmm." He eventually cleared his throat to regain his attention, "I'm still not Tommy Waldman, so you're gonna have to finish the story."

"Yeah. Right." Joshua said, the expression on his face clearly changing, "Well, all us Angell and Waldman kids grew up together. We never went to the same schools, but our families always took vacations together and did summer barbecues, that kind of thing. Jacob's wife Jenna is one of the Waldman daughters, and Jared even dated her older sister before he met Madeleine." Joshua paused for more coffee, "But Jessica and Tommy, let's just say their being born in the same year was all they had in common. Polar opposites. He teased her mercilessly, and you know she don't take crap from no one. Which means, they fought like cats and dogs, constantly. Although they did get along better by high school, but only because she found out his girlfriend was cheating on him and told him about it. He was bummed, but appreciated her honesty." Joshua paused again, smirking at a memory, "They even went to his prom together, which of course only fueled our parents' ideas about them. After graduation Tommy followed in his father's and grandfather's footsteps and went to the police academy." Joshua rose to his feet and stuck his hands in his pockets. He looked first at he ceiling, then at the floor, rocking back on his heels. It was obvious he had something else to say, so Flack just waited. Finally, "Tommy's family wasn't exactly thrilled when he got married last year, then moved to Philadelphia."

"Not the daughter-in-law they'd expected all those years and now no son close by either." Flack stated in understanding. "I have to admit, I'm glad I'm not this Tommy Waldman guy, 'cause he's obviously not very smart if he let a beautiful woman like Jess slip through his fingers."

Joshua was about to make some pesky brother comment about how his sister was more 'twiggy' than 'beautiful', but decided not to when they both heard the back door open.

AN HOUR LATER...  
Flack and Angell were taking the long way home. Well, more of a detour actually; to Jacob and Jenna's house in Queens , since they had not been able to join them at her father's house.

"You're sure quiet." Angell finally spoke. Flack had already texted Messer to confirm dinner plans for the four of them for the following weekend and was now just staring off as he fiddled with the cell phone still in his hand.

Flack smiled, "Just thinking how foolish a guy this Tommy Waldman is." This caused Angell to laugh. "Seriously, how could this guy grow up with you and not be interested? Is he blind or gay?"

Angell laughed again, "He's neither, Don."

"You're gorgeous. He has to be one or the other." Flack stated.

"So,... Joshua told you about Tommy." Angell said.

"Yeah, he did. Guess he felt kinda sorry for me." He said, which earned him a look, "Apparently I wasn't the only one tuned in to the fact that your father doesn't like me."

"My father does like you." Angell said adamantly. "This isn't about you, Don. It's about me."

"He having a hard time letting his little girl grow up?" Flack asked.

"Something like that." Angell stated.

"Joshua said you and Tommy faught like cats and dogs till high school." He said.

"Yeah, we never did get along. Then one day I saw his girlfriend Becky making out with another guy. As much as Tommy got on my nerves, I couldn't let him be cheated on like that." She said.

"If you two didn't get along, how'd you end up going to prom together?" Flack asked.

Angell stifled a laugh, "Well, their breakup happened right before prom, and he was hurt, and left dateless for the prom which he already had tickets for. So he asked for my help."

"If you two couldn't stand each other, how was you being his date for the prom going to help?" Flack asked, still confused.

"By me doing something totally out of character." Angell answered, causing Flack to look at her nervously.

"How 'out of character' are we talkin'?" He asked.

Angell smirked, noting his sudden curiousity and nervousness, "Well, for starters, my prom had been the weekend before, and my father wasn't about to fork out for another dress, especially since it was for a different school. So, I put my prom dress on again, we let my dad and his parents take a zillion pictures, then left for my friend Zoe's house so I could borrow her dress. One I couldn't let my father see me in." She paused, noticing that had gotten Flack's attention piqued. "It was short and low cut, a sharp contrast to the long formal one I had. Anyway, I put on the push-up bra I had hidden in my purse, swapped dresses, then off we went."

"And this helped Tommy,... how?" Flack inquired.

"He wanted to make Becky jealous." She stated. "Make her feel bad for having cheated on him."

"Hence the push-up bra." He said. "You're right, this really is out of character for you, Jess. It's so not you to do anything degrading for a man."

"Damn right. And don't you forget it." Angell ordered in a mock tone.

"So, what happened?" Flack asked.

"I hung on his arm, pretended to be enamored by his every word, we danced all night." She said, "Then I found Becky crying in the bathroom."

"At least my prom date with Bianca DeFazio was simple." He stated.

"Tommy found out the next week that Becky had only kissed another boy to make him jealous, so he wouldn't dump her after graduation." Angell stated, looking over her shoulder to change lanes.

"I don't remember high school being so,... complicated." He said.

"Oh, it was. You were probably just oblivious to it all." She said.

"That's what playing basketball is for." He said.

Angell laughed, "So, whatever happened to Bianca DeFazio?"

"I have no idea. Whatever happened to Tommy?" He asked.

"He's still in law enforcement, SWAT leader. He and Becky got married last year and moved to Philadelphia." She answered.

"This Becky lady must be an unbelievable knock-out for him to chose her over you." Flack stated.

"Who said I was ever an option?" Angell stated, "It's not like I ever gave him a choice." She looked over at him and winked, "I was holding out for someone much better."

Forty minutes later they arrived at Jacob and Jenna's house, their dog Shae running out to greet them. It was true that Angell's car needed a wash, but Shae's drool really wasn't what she had in mind.

"Hey, sis, glad you could make it." Jacob said as he rushed out through the garage after Shae. "Oh, sorry about that, Don." He said, as Shae was wanting to greet Flack. "He's gentle as a pussy cat, really."

"That's okay. I'd actually prefer him over a cat any day." Flack joked back, while rubbing Shae behind the ears.

They all headed for the house via the open garage door, "Hey, nice bikes." Flack stated, stopping to look at the motorcycles.

"Those over there are mine and Jenna's." Jacob stated, gesturing to two of the bikes. "This one is Jessica's, and that one is Jason's."

"And we should all go riding." Jenna added, stepping down into the garage.

"Yeah, that's a great idea." Jacob agreed. "You two got time?"

Angell looked at Flack for a visual confirmation that he was also interested and had the time to spare. "Sure." She answered.

Twenty minutes later found the four of them headed as far from the city traffic as possible. Jacob and Jenna took the lead since they knew the area, Flack and Angell followed. The dry fall leaves curled up around their tires as they rode through them.

"That was perfect weather for riding." Jenna stated as she pulled off her helmet back at the house. "Anyone hungry?" She was answered with a round of affirmatives.

"I'll go fire up the grill." Jacob stated, heading for the back yard. Angell followed her brother.

"It's too bad you couldn't make it to dad's yesterday." She said.

"Yeah, his barbecuing is much better than mine." He stated, using a long handled brush against the rack to clean it. "I'll never impress Don with my skills once he's had dad's."

"Apparently he'd never had sausages that way." Angell said, her brother looked at her with an arched brow, "Seriously, his dad's a griller, too, but-"

"Wait. He didn't say anything to dad about his dad's barbecuing, did he?" Jacob asked, closing the lid on the grill to let it heat up. She nodded. "You know what that's gonna mean, Jessica. It's never gonna set well with dad that someone might be better than him."

"I'll be sure to warn Mr. Flack." She said with an eye roll. How silly it was that the men in her family could be so competitive over how to cook food.

MEANWHILE...  
"Here," Jenna said, handing Flack a binder as he sat at her kitchen table with a bottled water. "Thought you might like to see these."

Flack took the binder from her and opened it. His jaw nearly hit the floor. "Whoa!" Was all he could manage. "Who took these?" He asked, referring to the photographs of Angell.

"Madeleine." She answered, opening the fridge for chicken for the grill. "Back when she was trying to get her photography business off the ground, she couldn't afford to hire professional models, so she talked Jessica into doing it for her."

"Are these all of Jess?" He asked, flipping the page.

"Yeah. Madeleine made up fake advertisements in a form for magazines for her portfolio. She used Jessica in each one." She said, putting a salad bowl down on the table, "See, the photo on the left is just the background with Jessica, the one on the right is the 'after' version with all the text and graphics added." She informed him, gesturing to the right and left sides of the page he had open. "Here," She said, putting a kitchen towel over the book and slowly revealing only the left side, "Can you guess what this is an ad for?"

Flack looked at the photo. It was a close up of the back of Angell's legs, feet apart, with a beach scene beyond her. "Hmm, vacation spot?" He guessed.

She moving the towel to reveal the 'after' photo on the right side. "It's a lotion ad. Let's try the next one." She flipped the page and put the towel in place, "Guess again."

Flack looked at the photo. It was a close-up shot revealing her bare shoulders, no fabric visible except for a hat tiled down to cover her eyes. "Jewelery? The necklace maybe?" He guessed.

Jenna shook her head, "Lipstick. Let's try one more."

Flack looked at the next photo of Angell. It was a full body shot, a side view of her sitting in a chair. She wore a very short dress, her head down with her hair falling over her face. He tried to think of what stood out. "It's gotta be something with the legs. Definitely."

"You're close. Shoes." Jenna said, standing and returning to the fridge, leaving Flack to peruse the rest of the photos.

"How come you can't hardly see her face in any of these?" He asked.

"That was Jessica's requirement. And when Madeleine showed them to potential clients, they weren't allowed to keep any copies, only view her portfolio." Jenna explained.

A few minutes later, "Where did you get that?" Angell asked loudly as she entered the kitchen.

"Madeleine asked me to store it for her." Jenna said with a smirk. "Thought Don might like to see it."

Flack looked up, a smile plastered on his face. "You're, uh, very photogenic, Jess."

"Oh geez." She mumbled.

A little later they gathered around the dining room table to eat lunch, "That was a great ride we took earlier. We should do it again before it gets too cold." Angell said.

"You're right, and I agree that we'll have to do it soon. Jenna won't be riding much longer." Jacob said, passing breadsticks around.

"You giving up riding?" Flack asked.

"Nope." She said, "Just gonna stop for a while."

"Jenna is pregnant." Jacob happily announced and the rest of lunch was full of good natured debates over baby names. Jacob wanted to do the junior/senior thing and call the baby Jake, so he was eager to get Flack's input on what it's like to be a junior.

Over the course of their visit the topic of Flack and Angell's antique and suit shopping came up, and since it was time for them to leave, Jacob wanted to see Flack's new suits. Well, actually Shae was quite curious as well. As he took them from the trunk, "Hey, Jess. Look at this." He said, holding up a wallet.

"Where'd that come from? It doesn't look like yours." She said, taking it from his extended hand.

"It was in with the suits." He said.

It was only a minute before they figured out that the grateful shop owner had slipped it in, then they filled Jacob and Jenna in on the guy who was trying to unload counterfeit bills.

Angell's phone rang, "Detective Angell." She answered, while Flack explained that although he had the day off, she was on-call. "Don," She said, after hanging up, "We've gonna go."

**FAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFA**

I'm already working on chapter 4 and have decided to give you a clue... Flack will be facing a deep seeded fear.  
Now, please hit the 'review' button to keep my muse happy and typing.


	4. Chapter 4

My characters for this chapter:  
Duffy, Davis, Bentley, and Pauley (the bad guys)  
Mr. Shore and Brandon Quill are from the jewelery store  
Reporter Cindy Baker and her camera man Bob  
Judge Rakers

My returning characters (you met them in "French & Irish");  
SWAT team leader Lieutenant Jose Diaz and his side-kick Bradley,  
and hostage negotiator Agent Amber Layne

This story takes place right after 6.2 "Blacklist"

My thanks, as always, to TerriBerri23 for the BETA read.

**"2 B CONTINUED" CHAPTER 4 **

Angell's phone rang, "Detective Angell." She answered, while Flack explained to Jacob and Jenna that although he had the day off, she was on-call. "Don," She said, after hanging up, "We've gonna go."

"What's up." Flack asked as they drove away. He knew not to ask in front of her brother, which could cause unnecessary worry on his part.

"Silent alarm at a jewelry store. Local PD has checked it out, twice." She informed him.

"Doesn't sound like a job for homicide." He stated.

"It does when they find a dead body in the alley behind the building." She clarified.

"Silent alarm goes off, gets checked, but no robbery. Alarm goes off again, gets checked again, still no robbery. And now a dead body?" He says while checking the return text message from Messer to confirm dinner plans for the four of them for the following weekend.

"Mhmm." She mumbles while switching on her lights and sirens to get back across town faster. "Why couldn't this guy have died earlier when we were at my dad's and already in the area?"

"I'm sure he tried, Jess." Fleck smirked, knowing she didn't mean for it to sound as bad as it came out.

"You sure you don't want me to drop you off at your place? This could take a while." She offered, not wanting him to get bored.

"Nah, I'm good." He said, declining her offer. He knew it would be boring for a while, but some extra car-time with her was worth it.

TWENTY MINUTES LATER...

Flack retrieved his jacket from the back seat, wishing he'd brought something just a little heavier. The sun was very nice, warm even, but it took only shade or wind to send a sudden chill this time of year. Angell pulled on her pea coat, just heavy enough to keep out the chill and long enough to cover her gun. Of course Flack liked the added bonus; it was also long enough to cover her tush, which he hoped would mean fewer men gawking at her. Angell grabbed a lightweight scarf, hoping she wouldn't need it, and they headed off.

"Detective Angell." Angell said, identifying herself and showing the badge on her hip to the officer standing at the yellow tape. The officer, who recognized her and Flack, waved them through and gestured in Mac and Stella's direction. "What've we got?" She asked them as she approached.

"We just got here ourselves, but with two silent alarms here earlier, but no robbery, it's probably that these scuff marks just outside the door were where a fight took place." Stella explained, still crouched next to the dead body.

"Which means, if they'd made any contact with the door during their fight, it would have set off the alarm." Angell finished for her. Stella nodded as she took out another evidence envelope. "Well, this probably has nothing to do with the jewelry store then, but I'm gonna go check inside anyway. Maybe someone heard or saw something." And with that Angell went around the building to the front door, with Flack following her.

"Well, for someone who was in a fight, he has no apparent injuries." Mac said to Stella as he took another photo. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Stella asked, looking up at him and shaking her head.

"I think someone just locked this door." He said, indicating the door to the back of the jewelry store that they and the dead body were near. Mac stood, put on fresh gloves so he wouldn't transfer any trace evidence, then reached for the nob. "It's locked."

MEANWHILE, INSIDE...

"Nobody move!" A masked man (Duffy) with a gun shouted as he came charging in from the back room, with two more just like him following, only they carried sawed off shotguns.

"Hey, how'd you get in here?" The jewelry store's manager Mr. Shore asked in shock as he was quickly approached by Duffy, who didn't answer, but pointed his gun at Shore's chest.

Shore heard his salesman Brandon Quill say, "Oh my God!" repeatedly as he backed himself up against a wall, obviously seeking as much distance as possible from the armed man (Bentley) that was approaching him, gun already aimed.

Fortunately for Flack and Angell, a glass display counter stood between them and the third armed man (Davis) who came directly to them, gun raised. They both kept silent as they analyzed the situation. Flack, who was standing behind Angell, mimicked her in raising his hands only at the elbows, as he knew she was trying to keep her coat from rising up, revealing her gun and badge.

"Open the safe." Duffy ordered Shore, who seemed to be frozen in fear. "Open it!" He shouted. Shore finally managed to get his body to cooperate and slowly headed over to his desk in the corner. He moved the large picture on the wall, revealing a safe.

"Cop!" Bentley suddenly yelled out, taking aim at the front window and firing. The glass shattered everywhere, but Mac had ducked in time. "There was a cop at the window, lookin' in!" Bentley shouted to Duffy and Davis, his adrenaline obviously rushing.

"You trip an alarm, old man?" Duffy asked, pushing Shore up against the wall and pressing the shot gun up under his chin. Shore just kept shaking his head 'no' as Duffy asked, "Did you?" repeatedly.

"Well I hate cops!" Bentley shouted, "And if I see another one, I'll shoot at them, too!"

"Chill, man! Now, let's just get what we came for and get outta here before any more of 'em show up." Davis, who appeared to be the cool head among them said. And with that, he used the butt of his shot gun to smash the glass display counter in front of him, causing both Flack and Angell to jump back to stay clear of the flying glass.

Flack had taken seriously how much these guys hated cops and as he and Angell backed up, he slid his hand under her coat, took hold of the gun holster on her right hip, and slid it around to the back of her pants. He figured with it centered on the back of her like that, there was less risk of it being seen and causing a problem. Right now, their only goal was to make sure no one got shot before this whole ordeal was over.

"Hold still, Mac." Stella ordered, as she continued wiping blood from his forehead. The bullet may have missed him, but the glass hadn't.

"I'm fine, Stella." He insisted, again, as he pushed her hand away in a 'don't fuss with me right now' kind of way.

"Mac, you're bleeding." She emphasized, reaching for a butterfly bandage.

"Yeah, I'm bleeding because I got shot at by a perp that hates cops. And if he finds out he's in there with two more cops, there's gonna be a whole lot more bleeding going on around here." He said, as Stella put the butterfly bandage on as fast as she could. It wasn't on as well as it should have been, crooked, actually, but Mac was standing up and the first aid was over regardless.

"Mac." Lieutenant Sythe said as he approached. Angell's friend Detective Kate Panner right behind. Sythe was a 'we take care of our own' kinda guy and wasn't about to have two of his own in harms way and not be there. He had of course called Panner right away, although she'd already heard it on the police scanner, then they'd both arrived at the same time.

"Sythe. Panner." Was what Mac gave by way of greeting before explaining what was going on, or at least what he knew, which seemed to be not much compared to what they needed to know.

"My daughter is in there." Mr. Angell told the officer at the yellow tape who was stopping him from passing. Mr. Angell took a deep breath and tried again in as clam a tone as he could possibly manage, "I'm Cliff Angell, a retired Detective Sergeant. My daughter is Detective Jessica Angell, and she is in that building right now. Who's in charge, please?"

The officer was either impressed with Mr. Angell's obviously forced composure of felt obligated to a fellow, although retired, law enforcement officer. "Let me get someone for you. Wait here, please." He said respectfully before walking a few feet away, out of ear shot, and got on his radio.

"Excuse me sir." Said the blonde lady next to him, "Did I hear you say your daughter is in there?"

Mr. Angell turned to her, but noticed the microphone in her hand and another person holding a camera over her shoulder before he spoke. "No. I didn't." He said, knowing it could be unwise if the media got wind that a cop, or two in this case, were in the building. The lady just looked at him sternly before huffing as she walked away.

"Sir," The officer said to Mr. Angell as he walked back over to the yellow crime scene tape, "This way, please." He said, leading him to Lieutenant Sythe who was in a tactical meeting with SWAT commander Jose Diaz.

BACK INSIDE...

"It can't be opened it right now." Mr. Shore pleaded with Duffy. "I told you, it's on a timer. This safe can only be opened at five minutes till the top of the hour to five minutes past. That's it, it can't be opened at any other time."

Duffy huffed. He hadn't wanted this, or a delay of any kind for that matter. It was bad enough when Pauley went and had a heart attack, or a stroke, or whatever it was that caused him to keel over like that. Dang, they probably should have stuffed his body in a closet or something, instead of hauling him out the back door. At any rate, they had to wait another fifteen minutes till the safe could be opened because they weren't leaving without those diamonds. In the meantime, he hoped they didn't have to resort to Plan-B.

"Hey, Duffy?" He heard Bentley call over, "There's a tv over here, he said, gesturing to the small monitor behind the counter. I'm gonna turn it on while we wait." Duffy nodded, maybe a distraction would keep Bentley from thinking about the cops that were surely coming.

Flack and Angell sat on the floor with Shore and Quill, leaned up against the wall, while two of their captors paced the room, Duffy in front of the blown out front window, Davis right there in front of them, and then there was Bentley, who was surprisingly amused by the tv set. Fifteen minutes would seem like forever, or maybe not.

"Holy shit!" Bentley suddenly started shouting. "Duffy! Duffy, come here! We're on the news, and this reporter lady is sayin' there's a cop in here."

"What?" Duffy and Davis both exclaimed.

"Yeah, man, listen. There she goes again, sayin' she's outside this place with 'insider information' that there's a cop in here with us." And with that, Bentley aimed his gun at the jewelry store's manager.

"I'm the manager. I work here." Shore stammered out while shaking his head before any of them even asked him a question.

"Well, one of you's a cop!" Bentley screamed as he grabbed the front of Shore's shirt, picking him half way up off the floor, "And I hate cops!" He screamed before letting go of Shore, who plopped back down onto the floor.

Bentley grabbed Quill by the shirt next, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I, I... I, I work here." Quill managed to stammer out, obviously very frightened. His shirt was released and he fell back to the floor.

Bentley moved to the next in line and grabbed Angell by the collar of her coat, pulled her to her feet and shoved her against the wall, "Who are you and what are you doing here?" He screamed into her face.

"Just shopping." She said quietly and not making eye contact with him.

"For what?" He asked.

"A gift." She said, still quiet. "A gift for my mom."

"You a cop?" He screamed, getting in her face.

She just shook her head 'no' but he jerked her suddenly, slamming the back of her head against the wall. "Teacher. French teacher." She said, only slightly louder this time.

Flack knew Angell was good at acting and was impressed with how she played her current roll of a scared shopper. Although, he didn't particularly care for her choice of answers; _'a gift for my mom'_since her mother was deceased. He knew his turn was next as Bentley let go of Angell and she slowly lowered herself down the wall. It was his turn to be convincing, but Bentley didn't approach him like he had the others. Instead, he took a step back and raised his shot gun at him.

"Guess, that only leaves you." Bentley spoke in a surprisingly calm tone, giving Flack a glare as he looked down at him.

"Hey, man," Flack began, with an 'I'm innocent' gesture of the hands, "I just picked a lousy day to go shopping."

"Oh yeah? Who are you, and shopping for what?" Bentley asked, hoping to catch Flack in a lie.

"Donald Flanigan. I'm lookin' for an engagement ring." Flack said, his subtle way of letting Angell know that if things went south, he loved her. Of course, he also knew knew he'd been standing in front of a ring case when all hell broke loose, because he'd just watched Quill slide a tray of rings into it.

MEANWHILE, OUTSIDE...

"You can't do that." Cindy Baker of KKNY-tv told Mac. "It's called freedom of the press." She added placing her hands on her hips.

"Your reporting is aggravating this situation." Mac told her sternly. "Now get back two blocks like the rest of the media." He added, as he started to walk away, then turned back, "And from now on, Ms. Baker, I suggest your confirm your information before you go around reporting it as fact."

"Come on, Bob. I have an idea." Baker told her cameraman.

"Adam," Mac asked over the monitor in the back of the SWAT van, "Where's that surveillance footage from inside?"

"No luck so far, Mac." Adam answered.

"What's taking so long?" Stella piped in, standing next to Mac.

"It's the private security company the jewelry store uses. They're denying us access to the live feed, saying they have first rights and should be down here taking care of this situation instead of us." Adam explained.

Stella rolled her eyes, "That's ridiculous." She said, mostly to herself.

"Adam, I want you to call Judge Rakers. Get a court order, and get me that live feed. I need to see what's going on inside that building." Mac ordered.

"Will do, boss." Adam said, then signed off.

INSIDE...

"There's cops out there, Duffy." Davis said, obviously agitated. "They're stayin' back, but they're out there."

"Then let's give 'em some proof we're serious." Duffy answered, hoping they wouldn't need to go to Plan-B. But they wanted the diamonds in the safe and weren't gonna leave without 'em.

"Which one you want?" Davis asked.

"The lady." Duffy answered.

Davis walked over to Angell and started pulling her up to her feet, "Get up!" He shouted at her as the others on the floor moved away at seeing Duffy raise his gun.

ANGELL'S POV...  
_Oh shit. Even if I pull my gun, it's still my gun vs. three of theirs, and that would just get more of us killed. And if I fight, oh geez, if I fight then Don will get involved, then they'll either figure he's a cop or we're both cops, or... damn._

"You can't just go around shooting people." Shore spoke up. "This is crazy. We've done nothing but cooperate. The timer on the safe, it only has 11 minutes to go. You can have the diamonds. Just don't hurt anyo-."

"Shut up!" Davis shouted, cutting him off, "Unless you wanna take her place."

Shore's eyes went wide. He didn't wanna see the lady get hurt, hell he'd even kept quiet that she was a cop, but he had a wife to get home to. He just looked at her apologetically and shook his head.

"Didn't think so." Duffy said as he raised his gun.

Angell braced herself, heard the shot, then heard a thud. She opened her eyes, seeing Flack, who had stood at least five feet to her left just a moment ago, now lay on the floor in front of her. She crouched down, taking in the blood coming from his right arm. "Shit, F-"

"Don." He said, cutting her off and looking up at her, "Call me Don." He repeated, holding up the appearance that they were not there together.

"Right. Shit, Don." She replied, realizing she was about to call him by his last name. That could have been disastrous, considering these guys've probably all done time at some point and the name 'Flack' is known all too well within prison walls. "What'd ya go and do that for?" She asked.

"Um, I'm not sure, Lady." He said carefully. She took off her scarf and pressed it against the wound on his arm.

"Give me your tie." She ordered Quill, stretching out her hand for it.

"It's just a clip on." He said with a shrug, "Won't do you much good."

"Here." Shore said as he loosened his tie.

Angell took the tie from Shore and secured it tightly around Flack's arm just above the elbow. The bullet had entered just below the elbow in the thickest part of the forearm. With the tie in place she used her scarf again to apply pressure to the wound as blood ran down and dripped off his fingertips.

MEANWHILE...

"We have shots fired. Shots fired inside the building." Came an announcement in just about everyone's ear piece or radio as everyone made sure they'd taken cover.

"Give me that." Lieutenant Sythe said, gesturing to the bull horn a SWAT member had.

"Careful, Will." SWAT Commander Jose Diaz said, "You don't wanna antagonize them. Besides, our Hostage Negotiator Amber Layne will be here any minute."

"I know, Jose. But they won't answer the phones, and we've got to get them talking to us." He replied. He wanted both his officers back safe. Sythe stood, but stayed behind the squad car, "This is the NYPD, you are surrounded." No answer.

"Mac, here's the building's blueprints Adam had sent over." Stella said, unrolling the papers. "I'm thinking the perps snuk in through the ductwork on the roof and hid, waiting for the jewelry store to open to rob it."

Mac nodded, "It's a Sunday. They probably didn't open till noon. Perps wanted the manager there too so he could open the safe for them." He said, watching Stella nod in agreement.

"Adam?" Mac said, having returned to the monitor in the back of the SWAT van. "Any progress on getting us that live feed?"

"Judge Rakers' office just faxed over the papers, and I just got off the phone with the surveillance company. They gave me the pass codes and I'll have a feed up for you in less than a minute." Adam said.

"Good work, Adam. We need to see what's going on in there." Mac said.

BACK INSIDE...

"Okay, okay, you're a teacher, not a nurse. Now give me that." Duffy ordered Angell, gesturing to the scarf she still had pressed up against the wound on Flack's arm.

"Sorry, Don." She said, looking at him sheepishly. She knew the pressure she was applying should not be stopped yet.

"I'm fine." He said back to her. Angell nodded and handed her scarf over to Duffy, and they all watched as he began tying it in a knot.

"Get up." Davis instructed Quill. "Get up, I said!" He shouted when Quill didn't get to his feet fast enough. Davis grabbed Quill and hauled him over to Duffy who shoved the knotted up scarf into his hands. "Now, you're gonna walk over to the door and throw this outside, as far as you can." He paused as Quill looked at him like a deer in headlights. "And I'm gonna have my gun on you, and if you do anything stupid, I'll shoot you."

Quill nodded, looked down at the bloody scarf in his hands and slowly walked towards the door.

OUTSIDE...

"Sir," SWAT member Bradley said to Diaz, "We have movement at the door." He said, never taking his eye away from the scope on his rifle.

Diaz, Taylor, and Sythe all took up binoculars to get a closer look at what was happening and watched as a young man pushed the door open with one hand, the other held up high with something in it. He stopped at the door, using his foot to keep it open, holding both hands up for a moment, probably wanting to make sure they realize he's not one of the bad guys. He kept looking back over his shoulder as if someone inside was talking to him, he nodded, then he slowly pulls back an arm and let's something fly before moving his foot and letting the door close again.

"Get someone over there." Diaz instructed, then several SWAT members went forward in a tight side-by-side formation to collect what was thrown.

"It's a scarf." Mac stated, as he put on gloves. "They want us to know they're serious and willing to kill." He added, then looked up at Stella, who hadn't responded, then followed her line of sight to where Mr. Angell was standing. He was at least fifteen feet away, but still looking at his daughter's bloody scarf in Mac's hands. A look of resolve on his face.

Mac's phone rang, "Taylor." He answered, pulling his eyes away from Mr. Angell.

"Is that a scarf, Mac? Is it Angell's?" He heard.

"What? Danny?" Mac asked, looking around him.

"Is it Angell's?" Messer asked again.

"Yeah, it is. Where are you?" He asked, knowing it was Danny and Lindsay's day off, but not seeing either of them.

"At home with Lindsay and Lucy." Danny answered.

"Then, how...?" Mac mumbled.

"You're on tv, Mac. I can see the scarf in your hand." Danny explained. "You need us to come down and help?" He offered.

"No, Danny, we're good." Mac said, still looking around.

"Look up." Danny said. "The angle on the tv is from up higher."

Mac looked up, there was a hotel across the street. The reporter and camera crew he'd chased away earlier were on a fourth floor balcony feeding live footage of the scene. "I gotta go, Danny."

Mac called over two officers, gave one the bagged scarf to take to the crime lab and the other instructions to head for the hotel.

"Mac," Stella said. He stepped over to the back of the SWAT van where the live surveillance camera footage from inside the jewelry store had finally become available. "I can see the manager Michael Shore here." She said, gesturing to him on the screen. "And that's Brandon Quill, a salesman there." She said, also gesturing to the screen. "But all we can see of Flack and Angell are their feet. The rest of them is blocked by the display counter."

"Great. That doesn't help us know which of them is injured." Mac stated.

"Speaking of injuries." He heard Hawkes say, "Let me see." He semi-requested, gesturing to Mac's forehead.

"I'm fine, Sheldon." Mac assured him, trying to brush him off.

"I'm the doctor here and I'll be the judge of that, Mac." Hawkes said, taking a closer look at Stella's work. "No glass fragments. Looks clean. It'll need a few stitches later, when this is all over."

Mac tried not to smirk, "Thanks, Doc." He said.

Hawkes shot him a look, "You're welcome. I've also got news about our vic in the alley. Sid says it was a heart attack. Name's Jonathan Pauley, and he works for the same private security company that the jewelry store here uses." He paused, noticing the look on Mac's face change to contemplation. "I called them, and it turns out Pauley is supposed to be working elsewhere today and wasn't wearing the company's mandatory issue uniform."

"Sounding like he could be a fourth perp. Well, at least he didn't get to turn off the live feed before he died." Mac stated.

"They still won't respond." They heard Layne say as she and Sythe approached. "And Mrs. Shore just arrived."

"And there's still no clear sniper shot." Diaz added.

AN HOUR LATER...

"They're still out there, Duffy. Damn it, we've got all these diamonds, but no way out." Davis ranted, a slight case of cabin fever getting to him.

"Go splash some water on your face." Duffy suggested, gesturing to the back where the bathroom was.

"Can I, um, can I go, too?" Shore asked sheepishly. Davis just looked at him as he slowly rose to his feet.

"Take him with you." Duffy ordered Davis, who nodded at Shore.

"You try getting old and having kidney problems." He heard Shore mumble apologetically to Davis as they headed for the back hall.

"I say we shoot our way outta here." Bentley stated, "And kill as many cops in the process as we can." He added, waving his gun around with a wild look in his eyes.

"No. But it is time for Plan-C." Duffy informed him. "C-4, that is."

As soon as Davis and Shore came back into the main part of the store, Duffy sent Davis to the back again. He returned a minute later with three vests. Vests that got Flack and Angell's attention.

Duffy ordered Shore back to his feet and forced him to put on the bomb-laden vest. 'Cruel irony' Shore thought to himself, since the vest reminded him of a life preserver, securing in front with two plastic clips fitting together. "Let me hear it click." Duffy said, forcing Shore to snap the two ends together, possibly sealing his fate. He then ordered Quill to stand and do the same. "Lucky you, mate." He said to Flack before he gave a jerk of his head indicating to Angell that it was her turn to stand up, "We've only got one left."

But Angell wasn't about to cooperate. No, if they wanted her in that vest, they were gonna have to fight for it. She still couldn't pull her gun, but there was one thing she could do; And with that, she suddenly knocked Duffy's feet out from under him, which sent his gun flying to the far side of the room, then proceeded to kick his ass while Bentley held his gun on Shore and Quill, and Davis held his gun on Flack. But Duffy wasn't gonna let some chick take him down without a fight. They all watched the two go at it, throwing punches and kicks at each other for several minutes.

BACK OUTSIDE...

"Taylor." Mac said, answering his phone.

"Mac, it's Adam. The scarf may be Angell's, but the blood comes back as a DNA match to Flack." Adam informed him.

"Shit." Mac said under his breath. "Thanks, Adam." Not that hearing that one's blood was any better than the other, it was just one more piece of the puzzle.

"Mac!" Stella called, "You gotta see this." And they watched on the monitor of the live surveillance feed from the back of the SWAT van.  
"The vests-"

"Are bombs." Mac finished for her as he closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. This just took things to a whole new level.

"Sir," Bradley said to Diaz. "A fight just broke out." And they returned their attention back to the monitor and watched Angell fighting with one of the perps.

INSIDE...

The broken glass all over the floor from when the perps had shattered the display cases earlier, was now making things worse, resulting in more slips and falls, and of course glass cuts. Angell grabbed Duffy's head and slammed it down hard on her knee causing him to stumble backwards and blood to pour from his probably broken nose, before high-kicking him in the gut which sent him falling back into the only un-broken display case there was. His retaliation was to pick up a broken off piece of metal from the case's frame and start swinging at her. Several attempts at this put her off balance as she dodged, giving him the upper hand. He grabbed her by the back of the hair and spun her into the concrete wall, pinned her arm behind her, then pulled her into a choke-hold which he held till she slowly slid to the floor.

Flack just sat there stunned as Bentley and Davis whooped and hollered at each other in victory. They probably would have high fived each other if they weren't on opposite sides of the room. Duffy had stepped back to lick his wounds, so Flack crawled over to Angell who's motionless body lay only a few feet away. She faced the wall, so her back was to the perps, so he leaned over her. He could feel her breath on is hand, she was alive. Her coat had come open and all it would take was one of them rolling her onto her back for them to see her badge, so he started asking, "You okay, Lady?" as he removed it and slid it into the pocket of his jacket. "Lady, you okay?" He asked again out loud as he crouched down to whisper to her quietly, "Jess, just stay still. If you can hear me, just stay still and don't move."

MEANWHILE, OUTSIDE...

The sound of heavy sighs filled the air around the SWAT van, as those watching on the monitor were filled with frustration.

Mr. Angell watched his daughter as she slowly slid down the wall. Was she unconscious? Was she dead? He didn't know, which may have been the hardest part. _'Why did she fight?' _he asked himself. _'Oh God, of course she should fight.'_ he reasoned with himself. _'Damn it, why didn't Flack protect her? Maybe he couldn't'_he thought to himself, his mind racing. "Mr. Angell?" His internal battle was disturbed as he heard his name being called.

"Mr. Angell, I'm Detective Messer." Danny greeted as he rolled up and extended his hand. "I have someone I'd like you to meet."

BACK INSIDE...

"Damn it, Duff. I wanted to kill her!" Bentley shouted. "I hate cops! Why couldn't you let me be the one to kill her?" He ranted on.

"Well, at least we know who the cops is." Duffy stated, "Ain't no school teacher can fight like that." He added, still wiping blood from his face.

"Let's put the vest on her." Bentley suggested.

Davis shooed Flack away and reached for Angell's wrist and lifted it up, "Why?" He asked as it flopped back down onto the floor. "I think she's dead."

"'Cause even if she is dead, I still wanna blow her up!" Bentley yelled, and it was obvious Duffy was mulling it over.

Flack could tell Duffy was thinking about it, and decided right then that he just couldn't take that chance, not with the woman he loved.  
"She's not the cop." He stated, earning their attention as he rose to his feet. "I am." He added, pulling Angell's badge from his pocket.

"What the?" Davis stammered. "No way. Duffy's right, teachers can't fight like that."

"An unlucky shopper from a tough school. Sucks to be her." Flack stated with an almost casual shrug, "But she's still not the cop."

Bentley's brow furrowed, his eyes bore into Flack, "Put it on him." He all but growled through gritted teeth.

Flack took a step back, "You've got two choices, Duffy." He began, directing his words to their leader. The last person he wanted to deal with was cop-hater Bentley. "You even try to put that vest on me, and I'll show you what it's like to fight a real cop." He paused, thinking, 'Jess would beat the crap outta me for saying that.' "Or," He continued, "You get her out of here so she can get some medical attention, which just might lessen your sentence time once your ass is in jail,... and I'll put the vest on."

Flack stood there, he could tell Duffy was mulling it over. Oh God, he hated bombs. Feeling your flesh ripped open and pierced with fragments, oh how he remembered it well, but he would do it all over again, as it appeared he just might, if it meant saving her life. Angell's badge was back in his pocket and he rubbed his shaky fingers over it, while he waited for the verdict, or his death sentence, or whatever was about to happen.

"Pick her up." Duffy ordered Davis.

"You can't listen to him, Duff." Bentley all but whined.

"Shut up." Duffy ordered Bentley. "Now do as I say." He told Davis.

Davis shooed Flack away again as he walked over to Angell. He bent down, scooped her up, and carried her to the front door.

"I'm gonna stay here at the door, till you get back in here." Duffy informed him. "Ready?" He asked, Davis nodded, and the door was opened.

OUTSIDE...

"Sir," Bradley called out to Diaz, "The Bomb Squad is here and we've got activity at the door again."

They all watched as one of the perps stepped out, carrying Angell. Her arms hanging limp and swaying slightly with each of his steps, and her head tilted back, letting her long brown waves blow in the wind. "Medics, stand by." everyone heard Sythe quietly and calmly speak into the radio. A second perp stayed at the door, propping it open with his foot, both hands holding a sawed off shotgun, obviously making sure his partner got back inside.

_FLACK'S POV..._  
_He watched through the window as Davis carried Angell out to safety. That was all that mattered right now. Her being safe. He loved her. He loved her more than anything, and if strapping on this bomb meant her staying alive, he was more than willing. He would do this. He would do this for her. "Let me hear it click." He heard Bentley say. "Or we bring her back in." He threatened. Flack looked at him, then down at the two ends in his shaking hands. Once he clicked them together, the vest would be secured on him, and the bomb would be active. Oh God, he hated bombs. Click._

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Hope you enjoyed chapter 4. Chapter 5 will be up very soon.  
Who do you think Danny showed up with? Any guesses?  
Please review before you go!


	5. Chapter 5

Same characters as chapter 4. The ones you recognize belong to CBS, the rest are mine.

Thanks to my beta reader TerriBerri23. She's awesome.

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"2 B CONTINUED" CHAPTER 5  
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ANGELL'S POV...  
She could feel herself being carried, but she wasn't sure by whom because she didn't dare open her eyes at the moment. Her head hurt. In fact, all of her hurt. She was outside now, that much she'd figured out by the wind blowing on them. "Just throw her down the steps and get back in here." She heard one of the perps say, Duffy she thought it was. She wondered where Don was. Is his arm still bleeding? Is he okay? She knew how much bombs scared him and wished she'd had an opportunity to tell him how much she loved him. She felt her arms and feet sway as whoever it was that was carrying her kept walking. _'Just throw me down the steps?' 'Oh, I don't think so.'_

MR. ANGELL'S POV (and pretty much everyone else that was watching, too)...  
Mr. Angell watched as the first perp continued walked slowly away from the door, about ten feet, then stopped. He crouched down, it appeared he was going to lay Jessica at the top of the steps, that was as far as he intended to take her. _'She moved'_ he told himself, sucking in a breath. _'Jessica moved, I know she did.'_ he assured himself. And sure enough, he watched the perp leaned down just as Jessica reached up and grabbed him 'round the head and rolled him over her, sending them both down the steps. There may have only been five or six steps, but they were still concrete and he could hear everyone around him groan as if in sympathy pains. Jessica finally rolled to a stop, landing on her back at the base of the steps, the perp had landed on the bottom step just above her. She pulled her gun from the back of her belt, then gripped the perp around the neck, pulling him down on top of her. With his back pressed against her, she used him as a human shield and took aim at the second perp still standing at the door. She fired. He returned fire, hitting the first perp in the chest, twice. She fired again, hitting her mark this time, right in the forehead.

BACK INSIDE...

Bentley had pendulum eyes; going back-and-forth between Flack and the SWAT team outside the window collecting Duffy and Davis' guns along with their bodies. Damn, he needed those extra guns! He had only his left. "Guess it's down to just us, guys."

BACK OUTSIDE...

The wall of SWAT members walked side-by-side, shielding Angell until they got her to the safety of the waiting ambulance. "Thanks guys." She told them with genuine gratitude.

"I'm okay. Just a knot on the head and this blood is Flack's." She told both Hawkes and the paramedic who were fussing over her.

"Not gonna happen, Angell." Hawkes paused, crossing his arms over his chest and slowly shaking his head as the paramedic held out an oxygen mask.

"What?" She asked, attempting to wipe the blood off her hands.

"You're not gonna rush off and try to rescue Flack just yet, and don't try to tell me all that blood is his. You've got cuts all over your hands. Now, you're gonna sit here with this oxygen mask on because I watched on the monitor as that guy put you into a choke-hold... you passed out due to lack of oxygen. See how that works, Detective." He said with a straight face and serious tone of voice.

"Hawkes, I'm fine." She insisted.

"No you're not." Both Mac and Sythe said in unison as they approached with Diaz, causing Angell to roll her eyes in frustration. She really just wanted to go help get Flack outta there. After all, it was her fault he was still in there, or at least that's how she saw it.

"Now sit down and put that mask on." Sythe ordered. "You've got to brief us anyway."

INSIDE...

"Sit down." Bentley ordered Shore who currently stood against the wall with his fellow captors as he gestured to the chair in front of him. "I said, get over her and sit down!"

Shore slowly walked over to Bentley with his hands raised and sat in the chair. Bentley lowered his gun, thought never his eyes, long enough to duct tape Shore's hands behind him, making sure to catch a rung of the chair so he couldn't get up.

"Now you get over here." He ordered Quill, who did the same and got the same.

Then Bentley walked over to Flack, still pointing his gun at him, "That way." He ordered, gesturing to the back hallway. "Move it!"

Flack slowly walked through the doorway and down the hall to an office. Bentley shut the door behind them and told Flack to sit in the chair. Then he took out a cell phone.

MEANWHILE, OUTSIDE...

When Angell was finished, she noticed Diaz's attention focused on something he was listening to in his ear piece. "Bentley's moved to the back office with Flack. Left the other two in the front." He said.

"He's feeling trapped. Probably thinks we'll use tear gas or something on him." Sythe said.

"Come with me." Diaz said, "You, too, Detective Angell."

INSIDE THE BACK OFFICE...

"Guess I didn't need to pre-program number two after all." Bentley said with an evil grin as he pressed the auto dial number one button.

An immediate explosion, followed by a second, was heard and felt. Flack ducked, wondering if his vest was about to go off, too. But then quickly realized Bentley wouldn't be anywhere near him if the bomb was that sensitive. He looked at the sickening expression on Bentley's face, "Bastard."

Bentley just smirked back and picked up the office phone.

OUTSIDE...

Smoke and debris came flying through the front door and what was left of the large front window of the jewelry store.

Angell stood between Mac and Hawkes, gasping for air. _'Oh God, no.'_ she kept repeating inside her head as the smoke cleared.

Then Layne's phone rang. "It's Bentley." he mouthed to those around her. They all listened to her side of the conversation till she hung up. "He wants a van brought around to the back door. Didn't say if he intended on taking Detective Flack with him." She informed everyone. "I'll get to working on the van while you finish here. Just remember, we can't let him leave here."

Everyone nodded in understanding and just grateful at the moment that Flack was still alive.

"Here," Diaz began, gesturing to the building's blueprints, "This is where Bentley and Flack are now. There's a row of small windows up high on this outside wall. That's all, it's our only view inside, and our only chance at a shot and it'll have to be taken from that rooftop over there." He said, gesturing to the next building over. He paused, looking at Sythe, "I'd like Detective Angell's help. There are six of those windows, and I'd like a sniper at each one."

"You need another sniper." Sythe stated.

Diaz nodded, "She's good." He said in confidence, knowing her reputation and skill.

Sythe wordlessly nodded, knowing he didn't even need to ask her if she was willing, and a SWAT member approached with her gear.

Angell slipped off her pea coat and worked herself into a jump suit. She secured her side arm before the SWAT guy started handing her additional weapons for every slot and pocket the jump suit had. She was securing a bullet belt over her shoulder when her father approached.

"Pere (Father)." She breathed out, surprised to see him.

"Jessica." He said with a heavy sigh, gripping her tight and in great relief.

"Pere, je dois aller (Father, I have to go)." She said after a moment, hoping he would release his hold on her. She hated to have to pull away from him so soon, but she needed to hurry and go help rescue the other man she loved. "Papa (Dad)?"

"Je sais, Jessica, Je sais (I know, Jessica. I know)." He mumbled into her hair as he finally loosened his grip on her.

"Sorry, Jessica." She heard. Looking up she saw her friend Kate Panner. "I couldn't keep him away from you any longer." She joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Angell smiled back, "Thanks, Kate." Then turned back to her father, "Je ferai expalin plus tard, Papa (I'll explain later, Dad)."

"C'est bon, Jessica. Je comprends (It's okay, Jessica. I understand)." He said in a gentle tone.

"Non, le Papa, vous ne faites pas. Et je n'ai pas le temps maintenant pour vous expliquer de Don et des bombes, et- (No, Dad, you don't. And I don't have time right now to explain to you about Don and bombs, and-)"

"Jessica, Je comprends, (Jessica, I understand)." He said firmly, cutting her off, then gesturing for her to turn around.

She did and saw Mr. Flack by one of the squad cars. His shoulders squared and his jaw set as he looked back at her, yet his hands were clasped behind him, like a soldier at ease. She felt like her heart was about to burst. '_Oh God, he must hate me. It's my fault his son is in there with a bomb strapped to him. And this time he's here to witness him getting blown up.'_ She turned back to her father. "Take care of him for me, Dad." She said, placing a hand on his chest, then watched him nod. She picked up her rifle and walked away. She had a job to do.

MR. ANGELL'S POV...

He watched his daughter head up the street, dressed in head-to-toe black and laden with sniper gear, just like the SWAT members accompanying her. They were off to rooftops unknown to him, off to rescue the man who had strapped on a bomb so his daughter wouldn't have to. A man who hates bombs. He knew that now, aware in full detail, because of the man standing next to him who had show up earlier, thanks to Detective Messer.

Angell twisted her hair till it was tight and tucked under the SWAT hat she wore. The last thing she needed was it in her face or, worse yet, flying about in the wind and getting unwanted attention from a perp she was supposed to be hiding from. She crouched down along the roof's edge, taking her place within the row of snipers, and checked her ear piece. They were each assigned a window. She wasn't quite sure if she hoped for a clear shot of Bentley in her scope so she could take him out herself, of if she didn't want that responsibility. Right now she could see enough of Flack to tell he was sitting in a chair along the far wall with the bomb strapped to him, and she had to fight to keep the image from messing with her mind.

Forty minutes later several of them had had minor opportunities to take out Bentley, but no one a clear shot. He kept his gun in one hand, a cell phone in the other, which he put down only occasionally to talk to Layne on the office phone about the van he was wanting. Layne was good at stalling, but they all knew this couldn't go on much longer. Bentley was pacing now, obviously growing more agitated. 'I've got a shot.' Angell heard in her ear piece, again, this time from the guy next to her. 'Cancel.' He said only a moment later as Bentley moved again. Damn, this was frustrating, of course guilt makes everything more frustrating, she thought.

INSIDE...

Bentley shifted to his left while talking, again, on the phone with Layne. He stopped long enough to slam the phone down and pick up the cell. He was growing more agitated by the minute. "Damn cops can't get anything right!" He yelled into the room. "You and me, cop, we're leaving here, together, one way or another. It could be in a van or in body bags, but either way..." He didn't finish, just let his words hang heavy in the air.

Flack didn't like the plural use of 'body bags' but he knew there would be no van. That's just the way things worked. You don't give a perp what he wants like that. Since there was nothing he could do about the current situation, at least not at the moment anyway, he let his mind wonder to Angell; _'Let's see, yes, I told her I loved her at least once today. That's important.', 'We spent some great time together this weekend.', 'Damn. I even had a great Christmas present picked out for her. Okay, probably could be thinking of more important things right now.', 'Like how beautiful she is. I'm gonna miss those big warm brown eyes of hers. Oh, and that smile. I'm gonna miss that, too.', 'Wish I could have taken her dancing just once more. Not to the bar like when we were with the Messers, although that was fun, but back to that fancy restaurant with the dance floor so I can hold her close. Maybe she'd even wear those wine colored pumps again.'_ Then his train of thought was suddenly broken.

Bang! Flack jerked his head 'round to see Bentley kicking the office door. Bang! "I told you lousy cops you'd better stay out!" He shouted as he continued kicking. Bang! The phone rang. "I told you lousy cops you'd better stay out!" He repeated to Layne who insisted they had not entered the building. Bentley slammed the phone down instead of listening. He was really loosing it. "I hate cops." He spat out, glaring at Flack as he picked up his gun.

MEANWHILE, OUTSIDE...

Angell, once again, had Bentley in her sights. He'd finally stopped kicking the door long enough to answer the phone. That was good. She needed him to hold still to get a shot off. "I've got a shot." She said into her mic. 'Take the shot.' she heard back in her ear piece. She watched Bentley raise his gun to take aim at Flack. She could shoot Bentley in the hand that held the gun, but he could use the phone in his other hand to set off the bomb. She could shoot him in the hand that held the phone, but he could use the gun in his other hand to shoot Flack. She knew she had only one choice, and one chance. She squeezed the trigger.

INSIDE...

Flack sucked in a deep breath as Bentley picked up the gun. _'I love you, Jess.'_ He thought to himself, knowing she was the best thing that had ever happened to him and almost as an afterthought, _'Oh, God, I hate bombs.'_

The phone rang. Surely, it was Layne looking to stall again. Bentley looked down at the phone as if wondering whether or not to answer it, but he never got to make that decision as suddenly the glass at one of the windows had a hole in it the same size as the one in the back of his head. He slumped forward over the desk, the gun and phone still in his hands, eyes still open as if in shock at what could have just happened to him.

OUTSIDE...

Angell lay on her back, her heart racing. She'd rolled over and held her breath as soon as she'd pulled the trigger. The life of the man she loved was hanging in the balance and if a bomb went off just now it would be her fault. It would have been her mistake that killed him. But there was no bomb, nor was there a gun shot from Bentley.

MEANWHILE...

The second Bentley slumped forward Flack grabbed for the cell phone in his hand. Some sniper had just taken him out, saving his life, so the last thing he needed was Bentley's body, which was slowly sliding off the table, to land on the phone and detonate the bomb. Yeah, that would be pretty stupid. So, he grabbed the phone just as the dead body of the man who had held him captive slid to the floor. SWAT and the Bomb Squad had begun rushing through the door before the body hit the floor and someone kicked the gun away, just in case he was still alive. Not that the hole in the back of his head gave much option of that, but yeah, just to be safe. Oh, and someone even checked for a pulse. If honest, Flack would have to admit he was glad when they didn't find one. One problem down, one to go. He still had a bomb strapped to his chest.

TEN MINUTES LATER...

Flack stepped outside via the back door where their little trip to a crime scene had originally started. He felt bad for a moment, like they were traipsing all over Mac's evidence, then he remembered, _'oh yeah, this case is closed' _and walked on. He exited the alley to the front of the building, the same way he and Angell had gone several hours earlier, to be greeted by numerous colleagues; NYPD, more SWAT, CSI's, more Bomb Squad, and... his father.

He didn't remember taking the steps to reach him, because all he could think was _'Oh God, if that bomb had gone off and he had to live through this. Again.'_ The next thing he knew his father was pulling him into a tight hug, with no obvious intention of letting go any time soon. "Son," He finally heard him say, "you are so lucky your mother is up in Albany visiting Patrick today."

Flack felt many pats on the back, as well as Hawkes examining his arm, as he and his father spent just a few minutes together. And it took more than a moment for him to realize one of them came from Mr. Angell, who had probably been standing there the whole time. "Where's Jess?" He asked him immediately. "Is she at the hospital? Her head. She hit her head really hard. They're checking her out, right? And there was glass everywhere. She had cuts all over her han-"

"She's okay, Don." Mr. Angell said, cutting him off, yet somewhat delighted at the obvious concern for his daughter's safety.

He turned back to his father, "I have to go, Dad. I have to get to the hospital to see Jess."

"That won't be necessary, Don." His father assured him, holding up a hand to stop his son from rambling again, then gesturing for him to turn around.

Flack turned and saw six SWAT Snipers, walking almost shoulder-to-shoulder as they come up the street. Angell was near one end of the line, looking around as if scanning the rather large crowd.

"Jess!" He called out, drawing her attention in his direction. "Jess!" He called again as he made long, quick strides in her direction.

She finally saw him and quickly handed her rifle off to the guy on her right, then pulled her bullet belt over her head and gave it to the guy on her left, then took off running. Her hat falling to the ground, letting her hair uncoil and trail behind her.

It wasn't quite the sappy predictable scenes you see at the end of some movies, but it was close. Flack opened his arms and Angell all but jumped into them. They didn't care who saw them or what they might think, only that they were alive and together. That was all that mattered at the moment. They held on to each other tight and with no intention of letting go any time soon.

MR. ANGELL'S POV...

He watched his daughter coming back up the street, still laden with sniper gear, just like when she'd walked the other way. But this time her load seemed lighter, maybe the burden of guilt off her shoulders had caused that. She shouldn't have felt guilty anyway, after all, Flack had made the decision to save her and strap on that bomb while she was unconscious. Yes, a decision he made on his own, a decision he made because he loves her. Flack loves his daughter. He knew that. And who could blame him? She's a lovely woman like her mother was, and he knew he was not bias. The bullet belt and rifle she carried made him so proud. Not many fathers could say that about their daughters, but he and his line bled blue. Just like the Flacks. He watched her run to Don and remembered how she used to run up to him like that when she was a little girl, only he'd swing her around and listen to her giggle. But that was years ago, now she's all grown up. The time had come for her to run into the arms of another man. He was pleased, yes he was, damn proud even, that it is Flack that loved her,... loved her enough to die for her.

LATE THAT NIGHT...

"Dang it." Angell all but growled in frustration as the bottle slipped in her hands again.

"Here, let me do that." Flack offered at seeing her try to pour wine with her hands bandaged and took the bottle from her.

"Sorry." She offered quietly. "I'm just frustrated with these stupid bandages." She added while watching him pour. "Wait a minute. You're not supposed to have any alcohol." She said, remembering the pain killers he was given after his arm was stitched and bandaged. But he kept pouring, then handed her a glass. 'He's not taking them. Of course.' She thought to herself, following him out of the kitchen.

"What an interesting way for our fathers to meet." She said a minute later, taking a seat on the couch.

"I need to thank your dad. Again." Flack said, taking a seat next to her. "He did a lot today, keeping my father calm and distracted."

"Well, at least they hit it off. For now." She said. He raised a brow. "Somewhere in my father's efforts to distract your dad and, at Mac's request, trying to keep him at the coffee shop down the block, they got to talking about their shared interest in barbecuing." She explained.

"I see." Flack said, not sure where this was going.

"Let's just say that their little bonding experience today will be resulting in a future cook-off between them." She said with a smirk.

"Grill vs. grill." He stated, setting his glass down, "Sounds delicious."

"True." She said, also setting her glass down. "All I can say is, I hope your father isn't as competitive about it as mine will definitely be."

"Uh oh." He mumbled, knowing his father would also be competitive, then they both laughed. "Well, hopefully today at least helped me score a few points with your father." He added.

"Don," She said, her expression quickly turning serious, which got his attention again, "I still don't know what to say about how you-"

"Shhh." He said quietly, touching a finger to her lips. He didn't want her thanking him, again, for what he'd done for her earlier. Not for the bullet he took to the arm, not for strapping on a bomb, nothing. "You don't need to say anything, Jess. You're here and you're safe. That's all that matters to me."

She nodded slightly, hearing the love in his words. The expression 'actions speak louder than words' couldn't possibly mean more than at this very moment. "I love you, too, Don." She said, touching his face and watching him smile.

"So, tell me." Angell began, "Where'd you come up with the name Flanigan?"

"It's my mother's maiden name." He informed her.

"Quick thinking." She praised, tucking her feet under her.

"Well, I thought about calling myself Tommy Waldman." He said, cupping the side of her face in his hand, "But you said you were aiming higher." He added, before kissing her.

FAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFAFA

So, what happens to Season 6 when Angell is not dead and Flack is not mourning or dinking?... It becomes Flangellized! My next story will be titled "Flangellized" and will skip through season 6 adding Angell and changing a few things. I'm also going to try to include more Dantana & SMack.

Please take a moment to review before you go. Thanks.


	6. Chapter 6

Just a note for those of you who reieve Story Updates for "2 B Continued". "2 B Continuted" is now complete, having gone through S6.E2.  
My new story "Flangellized" continues right afterwards at S6.E3.

Just wanted you to know, in case you want to update your alerts.  
Runner043 


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